A state appeals court has overturned a $US8.2 million verdict against General Motors awarded to a paralysed man who claimed his seat belt failed during a traffic accident.
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The Associated Press (AP) said the court ruled the judge in the case improperly allowed jurors to see prejudicial videotape simulating how the seat belt buckle could be accidentally triggered. The court reportedly ordered a new trial, saying the videotape did not meet legal standards for scientific reliability and did not simulate actual conditions of the accident.
AP said Carl Porritt was a passenger in a new Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck in 1995 when a drunken driver slammed into the back of the vehicle – the pickup rolled over, ejecting Porritt and leaving him paralysed from the chest down.
A Pinellas County jury reportedly decided in 2002 that GM was liable for a seat belt latch that unexpectedly released from the force of the collision but GM’s lawyers had argued that Porritt was not wearing a seat belt and presented witnesses who examined the latch in the days after the crash, tested it repeatedly and found that it worked properly.
The company also pointed out that the driver’s seat belt did not fail, and she was not seriously injured, the Associated Press noted.
