Products Liability Law Reporter

Sarah Milburn, 23, and her friends took an Uber ride in a 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan. Milburn, who was seated in the vehicle’s third row, pulled the belt from the ceiling, moved the belt across her body, and buckled herself in. The van was subsequently involved in a rollover collision, during which Milburn suffered a broken neck resulting in C6-7 quadriplegia.

Milburn sued American Honda Motor Co., alleging its restraint system was defectively designed in that it allowed passengers to use the third-row shoulder belt without also anchoring the belt across their lap. As a result, the plaintiff argued, her torso moved out of her shoulder restraint, allowing the belt to place force on her neck during the collision. The plaintiff asserted that the defendant should have installed integrated seat belts into the vehicle.

The jury awarded more than $37.61 million, apportioning liability at 63 percent to Honda, 32 percent to the Uber driver, and 5 percent to Milburn. The jury concluded that the seat belt was defective as designed and that federal motor vehicle safety standards were inadequate to protect the public from unreasonable risk of injury.

Citation: Milburn v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., No. DC-16-16470 (Tex. Dist. Ct. Dallas Cnty. Feb. 16, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Charla G. Aldous, Brent R. Walker, and James L. Mitchell, all of Dallas.

Plaintiff experts: Joellen Gill, human factors, Spokane, Wash.; Steve Meyer, seat belt design, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Paul Lewis, biomechanics, Roswell, Ga.; Leigh Ann Levy, life care planning, Austin, Texas; and Allyn Needham, economics, Fort Worth, Texas.

Defense experts: Nathan Dorris, human factors, Atlanta; Michael Klima, seat belt design, Novi, Mich.; Catherine Corrigan, biomechanics, Menlo Park, Calif.; Tom Perl, accident reconstruction, Orem, Utah; and David Jones, toxicology, Austin.