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Automotive Product Liability
A badly designed vehicle can permanently change
your life when the defect causes serious injury, even death.
Our experienced attorneys have helped consumers put
the responsibility in the hands of the manufacturers. We
have pursued cases against Hyundai, General Motors, Toyota,
John Deere and many others – and have won significant
settlements and awards for our clients.
More important than the dollar amount
is the satisfaction of helping injured clients receive fair
treatment from major manufacturers. We do all we can to
support people and their families as they return to “normal”
life.
Our attorneys and staff are experts in the technical aspects
of cases involving automotive defects. Litigation has involved
defective fuel systems, car seats, seat belts, air bags,
roll bars, gear shifts, wheels and more.
Examples of our firm’s automotive product defect cases:
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Magana v. Hyundai
$8.1 million verdict
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Peter O’Neil, Paul W.
Whelan
We took on Hyundai Motor Company in this trial involving
a 42-year-old man who was paralyzed when the seat of a Hyundai
Accent collapsed during an accident and allowed him to slip
backwards out of the car. The man was seat belted, but the
belts became ineffective after the seat back collapsed.
We proved that a stronger seat would have been a cheap and
effective “fix” that would have saved his client
from a life in wheelchair. The verdict was a record for
a personal injury case in Clark County, Wash.
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Doe v. Auto Manufacturer & Medical Facility
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Peter O’Neil, Kevin Coluccio,
Paul W. Whelan
A Washington woman was severely burned when her truck’s
gas tank caught fire after it was struck in a collision.
The woman in the other vehicle had just checked out of a
major medical facility while still impaired by medications.
We brought the product liability case against the truck
manufacturer and got a good settlement. Then we turned our
attention to the medical facility and got the facility’s
expert to admit the driver of the other car was too intoxicated
from medications to drive safely.
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Brown v. Yamaha
$10 million verdict
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul L. Stritmatter
Teenager Shawn Hejna wasn’t able to stop the motorcycle
he was riding because of a stuck throttle. He crashed and
suffered damages rendering him a spastic quadriplegic. The
1983 jury award stood for 11 years as the largest personal
injury verdict in Washington state.
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Kirkwood v. General Motors
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil,
Michael E. Withey
Mrs. Kirkwood was burned when her sedan struck the side
of a 1976 General Motors pickup that crossed into her lane
of traffic. The truck burst into flames after the side-mounted
fuel tank was crushed and torn.
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Worden v. General Motors
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
The plaintiff was driving a 1978 Chevrolet C/K pickup with
side-mounted fuel tanks when he was severely burned in a
collision.
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Cram v. Chrysler
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
Settlement with a major auto manufacturer supported the
plaintiff, who experienced severe burns and needed thermal
amputation following an under-the-hood fire.
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Bird v. General Motors
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil,
Michael E. Withey
Bill Bird died when his car was in a collision with a GMC
flatbed truck. Our legal team successfully argued that GM
was responsible because the truck’s fuel tank was
mounted outside the frame. The exposed fuel tank was crushed
in the collision, spilling fuel that created a huge fire.
The settlement helped Bill’s wife and 1-year-old daughter.
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Sandoval v. General Motors
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Peter O’Neil, Paul W. Whelan
Our legal team held the truck manufacturer responsible for
tears in the side-mounted fuel tank of the General Motors
pickup that left the plaintiff severely burned.
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O’Connor v. Toyota
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Michael E.
Withey, Peter O’Neil
Safety features in Toyota’s passenger cars weren’t
yet part of the company’s small pickups when Kurt
O’Connor was in a serious collision. His truck’s
door beam collapsed onto him, causing brain injury and other
injuries. Our legal team showed that Toyota knew of the
truck’s poor safety performance and should be held
responsible for Kurt’s injuries. Toyota added side-impact
door beams and other safety features to its small trucks
the following year.
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Homewood v. Zyblut, Toyota
$2.5 million total settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul L. Stritmatter, Keith
L. Kessler
A driver unexpectedly changed lanes on the freeway, causing
a nearby Toyota pickup to swerve, spin into the median and
roll several times. The pickup driver died and his seat
belted passenger was thrown from the vehicle. She is now
a quadriplegic. Our legal team secured a settlement with
the lane-changing driver and pursued a claim against Toyota
for the defective seat belt system.
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Doe’s Estate v. XYZ Tire Company and Tire Retailer
$1.7 million total settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
Manufacturing and installation defects in an oversized knobby
tire caused a pickup truck crash that ended the life of
a passenger, a 20-year-old promising professional baseball
player. Investigative work by the plaintiff’s counsel
– and the young man’s father – helped
illuminate a history of manufacturing defects in those particular
tires. The man’s family settled at mediation.
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Tribe v. Deere & Co.
Confidential Settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Peter O’Neil, Paul W.
Whelan
A Clark County man was pinned under the roll bar of his
tractor after the tractor tipped on a hillside. He suffocated
to death—unable to breath because of pressure from
the roll bar. We used Deere & Co. patents, tests and
advertising to show that Deere had abandoned a safer roll
bar design that would have prevented Mr. Tribe’s death.
We also got an order from the Federal District Court sanctioning
Deere for failing to produce information about other accidents.
(The case was the first of its kind, but remarkably, not
the last. As part of our investigation we turned up evidence
that another Clark County man had died exactly the same
way. Later, that man’s family asked us to represent
them, and we were able to recover for them, too).
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Whitlow v. General Motors
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
The plaintiff suffered severe burns in a post-collision
fuel fire after his General Motors C/K pickup with side-saddle
gas tank was struck in the side by a passenger car.
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Hollins v. Nissan
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
In one of many settlements with Nissan, our legal team supported
10-year-old Princess Hollins, who was blinded when the car’s
air bags deployed in a low-impact collision. The car’s
exterior had minimal damage. But in the passenger seat,
the oversized air bag was inflating at 120 mph when it literally
exploded in Princess’ face. She is now blind in her
right eye.
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Bravo v. Ford Motor Company
Confidential Settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Peter O’Neil, Paul
W. Whelan
Olga Bravo was killed by her airbag after her car bumped
into a wooden fence and tree after leaving a car wash. We
searched Ford’s document warehouse to find tests that
proved no airbag was required on such a low-velocity impact.
We also found documents showing that Ford knew that its
airbags could be tricked into firing by direct “hammer
blows” such as the one that occurred in this case.
We made a documentary video that explained the plaintiff’s
theory in the case and showed what a remarkable woman Olga
Bravo had been.
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Swanson v. Nissan
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil
This settlement with Nissan brought to light the dangers
of the manufacturer’s air bags, which too often deployed
in low-impact collisions. Our client in this case was blinded
when the air bag unnecessarily expanded.
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Dilts v. Motorcycle Manufacturer
$500,000 settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Paul L. Stritmatter
We helped the plaintiff obtain restitution from a motorcycle
manufacturer because faulty motorcycle parts caused a fire
that severely burned our client.
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O’Connor v. Honda
Confidential verdict
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul W. Whelan
A motorcycle fuel fire left our client badly burned.
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