Our client was one of three passengers riding in a 1998 Chevrolet Malibu.  She was seated in the rear center seat of the Malibu and was wearing her seatbelt at the time of the accident.  The rear center seat of the Malibu was equipped with only a lap belt restraint device.  It did not contain a lap/shoulder belt.  Plaintiff fell asleep during the car ride and awakened after the Malibu left the roadway and moments before it collided with a tree.  The driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.

    The Plaintiffs argued that the rear center seat restraint system installed in the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu was defectively designed and was a proximate cause of our client’s injuries. Plaintiffs’ counsel alleged there were two primary defects in GM’s design of the rear center seat:  the Malibu only had a lap belt without an automatic locking retractor mechanism and no shoulder belt, and the Malibu did not have an adequate anti-submarining seat design to stop the occupant from sliding under the lap belt.   Each of these defects combined to create extreme forces on the victim’s abdomen in the collision, and fractured her lower spine causing paraplegia.  The case was settled after mediation and before trial.

    Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that although the driver’s negligence caused the collision with the tree, it was GM’s negligence which caused the severe and permanent injuries to the victim. Both of the front seat occupants who were wearing a lap/shoulder restraint system suffered only minor injuries and were released from the hospital that evening.  The other rear occupant who also had a lap/shoulder restraint system suffered some abdominal injuries but was able to return to school two weeks after the collision.