$1.25 Million Auto Manufacturing Failure

Roll-away vehicle leads to death of elderly woman. CMS&C helps victim's family pick up the pieces with a $1.25 million recovery.

This case involved the death of an 82-year-old woman who fell victim to a manufacturing defect in her late-model automobile.

The Plaintiff's decedent was visiting her son. She parked her vehicle in the driveway, pulled up the emergency break and exited to the rear of the car to remove some items from the trunk. A manufacturing malfunction allowed the vehicle to roll backwards and run over the victim. She died at the scene of the accident.

The automobile was designed to force the driver to put the vehicle shifter in "park" before removing the key, but a combination of manufacturing failures, including worn metal, allowed the victim to remove the key from the ignition while the car was still in "drive." Moreover, the automobile manufacturer failed to provide any warnings about the amount of force required to fully engage the emergency brake.

CMS&C settled the matter for $1.25 million after a daylong mediation and follow-up negotiations.