Thursday, October 5, 2017

Stunning Verdict After Fiery Auto Crash

Originally published by William K. Berenson.

Honda-at-sceneA Dallas jury just awarded a catastrophically injured couple a jaw-dropping $42 million.

Matthew and Marcia Seebachan were driving to visit her grandmother near Austin a few days before Christmas in 2013. Suddenly a truck hydroplaned in a rain storm and collided into their small car. But a routine collision became a catastrophe when the roof of their Honda Fit collapsed and crushed them. Then shards of metal punctured their gas tank and the car burst into flames. The doors would not open and they were locked in an inferno.

Fortunately a passing motorist broke the glass and rescued the couple, but not before Matthew suffered horrifying third degree burns and he and Marcia sustained shattering injuries and extreme mental trauma. Medical bills were over one million dollars and lost wages were enormous.

How could this happen?

Investigators discovered that John Eagle Collision Center had only glued the roof in place after a previous hail storm — not welded it back in the 104 places required by Honda’s specifications and industry standards.

The couple filed suit.  Pretrial discovery, including the deposition answers of Eagle’s body shop manager admitting fault, were especially damning.

A doctor testified that that they should have only sustained minor injuries, bolstered by the fact that the driver and occupants of the truck were not hurt.

 

Matthew-and-Marcia-Seebachan-242x300But how did the verdict reach tens of millions of dollars?

The jury charge from the trial shows how the process works in a personal injury lawsuit.

First the jury finds which persons or companies are negligent. Often the defendant is 100% at fault but if the plaintiff or more than one defendant is also found liable, the jury allocates percentages. It found that the body shop was liable for 75 percent of the damages and the truck driver was 25 percent to blame.

The jury found that the defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of the injuries. The jurors did not believe the defendants’ excuse that the crash was unavoidable due to the slick roads.

Noted Dallas attorney Todd Tracy did a masterful job of showing that the collision center made the shoddy repairs to save money.

To arrive at the verdict, past and future damages in a personal injury case are added together including

  • Physical pain and mental anguish
  • Disfigurement
  • Physical impairment
  • Medical care expenses
  • Lost wages and earning capacity
  • Loss of household services
  • Loss of consortium

After a week-long trial, the jury was incensed and showed its anger when it filled in these blanks on Monday.

The verdict is even more sensational because usually to get to a enormous amount like this, a giant amount of punitive damages are awarded. None were even requested here.

The jurors and every one in our area know that Eagle is one of the largest automobile dealerships here. Statistics show that it grossed over one billion dollars and repaired over 5,500 vehicles last year.

Mr. Eagle has now pledged to follow the required body shop guidelines and to encourage other dealerships to do so to prevent future tragedies. That’s certainly good news, but it’s too late for the Seebachans (and presumably others).

How much is a typical verdict or settlement in an auto crash case?

People naturally think the answer is a lot since they only hear about sensational verdicts like this one, not the small ones or zero verdicts where the defendant wins, which happens far more often in routine automobile accidents. There are many factors that influence the size of the verdict or settlement including the severity of the crash, fault, parties, medical care, medical bills, lost wages, disability, and the amount of insurance coverage or assets to pay a judgment. I discussed this topic in a previous post. How Much Money Is My Car Accident Case Worth?

Does a case always go to a jury trial?

Another important question new clients want to know is will my case go to trial? Probably not, since 98 percent of personal injury claims are settled prior to a jury hearing the case. Even Mr. Eagle has disclosed that he wanted to settle with the plaintiffs out of court but that his insurance company forced him to go to trial. But a jury trial is often the right decision for injured persons.

New lawsuit filed to stop these shady practices

Todd Tracy recently filed a federal lawsuit against State Farm Insurance Company alleging that it fraudulently forces body shops to make cheaper repairs to save money. This new case will hopefully reform the fraudulent way insurance companies bully body shops to increase their gargantuan profits. State Farm has a staggering net worth of over $87 billion and paid its CEO over $8 million last year.

Hearty congratulations to Todd and his team for their impressive legal work.

The complete court file is here: Matthew Seebachan et al. vs. John Eagle Collision Center et al.  DC-15-09782

Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.



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