Case Results

Record jury verdict in favor of a driver who was rendered quadriplegic when her driver’s seat back collapsed following a rear-end collision. The unanimous decision was returned against the seat manufacturer after evidence showed the seat back was weak and the single-sided recliner mechanism in question was subject to failure. This is reported to be the largest civil verdict in Vermont. Several sources cited the impact of this verdict on the seat strength standards manufactures are required to meet.

Jury verdict in favor of a driver who was rendered quadriplegic and suffered brain damage when his “captain chair” broke off of the vehicle floor and his seat belt ripped in half during a frontal collision. In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, Chrysler Corporation, the manufacturer of the stock van, joined forces with The Gilbert Law Group against the van converter, the seat maker, and the manufacturer of the seat pedestal. After receiving substantial settlements from the other defendants, The Gilbert Law Group tried the case side by side with Chrysler’s lawyers against Coachmen, the manufacturer of the seat pedestal. A verdict from a Los Angeles jury sent a message to van conversion companies that the auto industry, at least Chrysler, would no longer protect them from deficient van conversion work that put consumers at risk, and that juries would hold them accountable.