Wash. court reinstates $8M award against Hyundai
11-25-2009, 12:05 PM
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Wash. court reinstates $8M award against Hyundai
The Washington state Supreme Court has reinstated an $8 million default judgment against Hyundai Motor Co. in a lawsuit over the backward collapse of a front seat.
In a 7-2 ruling Wednesday, the high court reversed the Court of Appeals in the case brought by Jesse Magana of Vancouver. He was left a paraplegic after the 1997 crash.
The justices say Hyundai deliberately withheld documentation from Magana's lawyers concerning other crashes in which front seats collapsed backward.
Magana was wearing a seat belt in the front passenger seat of a rented 1996 Hyundai Accent, but he was thrown out the back of the hatchback after the force the air bag apparently broke the seat's reclining mechanism.
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11-25-2009, 12:54 PM
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haha i think we all know hyundai sucks and won't really care about its customers. question is, what would other companies do in this situation?
11-26-2009, 12:06 AM
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yeah they would, especially with 8M at stake here. there are plenty of cars with seatbelts that break and that's fully understandable. i just think if there was a recall that they covered up, well it's not new news. we've heard a lot about corruption in the company. i would think that they would be out to help their drivers. on the other hand, it could also be a nut trying to get his ass covered ...and then some.
it took 12 years for this to settle. wow!
it took 12 years for this to settle. wow!
01-17-2012, 08:34 AM
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It reminds me of a lawsuit Hyundai lost when someone died (in their SUV?) because the seat was fully reclined. They were in an accident, seatbelt was on, but they were in "ghetto lean" with their seat laid back all the way and they were ejected out the rear. Obviously the fault of the driver, but Hyundai was liable because they ALLOWED their seats to fully recline. 
Edit: Found it: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/30/h...ecline-too-fa/
Edit: Found it: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/30/h...ecline-too-fa/
Sarah Goodner was killed in Texas in 2007 when her 2005 Hyundai Tucson rolled over and she was thrown out the back window. The culprit for that odd circumstance – even though she had her seat belt fastened – was her seat, which was reclined so far back that she was able to slide out of it.
Stuart Goodner, Sarah's father, sued Hyundai claiming that the Tucson was unsafe because the seat could be reclined too much. A jury agreed, kind of, awarding Goodner a $1.8 million judgment against Hyundai, but also deciding that Hyundai was only 45% responsible for Sarah's death. Stuart said, "We want people to know how dangerous it is to drive with the seat reclined, [and] we're calling the auto industry out to correct this design defect so that no other family has to bury one of their children."
Forty-five degrees was determined to be the maximum amount of recline before driving became unsafe. And the issue isn't new: The NTSB and NHTSA debated the issue in 1988 and couldn't come to an agreement. Of course we can't make light of this – a young woman has died. But we do wonder why it's Hyundai's responsibility to make sure you don't drive your car in an unsafe manner. We suspect we haven't heard the last of this...
Stuart Goodner, Sarah's father, sued Hyundai claiming that the Tucson was unsafe because the seat could be reclined too much. A jury agreed, kind of, awarding Goodner a $1.8 million judgment against Hyundai, but also deciding that Hyundai was only 45% responsible for Sarah's death. Stuart said, "We want people to know how dangerous it is to drive with the seat reclined, [and] we're calling the auto industry out to correct this design defect so that no other family has to bury one of their children."
Forty-five degrees was determined to be the maximum amount of recline before driving became unsafe. And the issue isn't new: The NTSB and NHTSA debated the issue in 1988 and couldn't come to an agreement. Of course we can't make light of this – a young woman has died. But we do wonder why it's Hyundai's responsibility to make sure you don't drive your car in an unsafe manner. We suspect we haven't heard the last of this...
01-17-2012, 11:27 AM
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i hate the fact that drivers seats don't recline as far anymore.. on my trip to michigan, i wanted to recline so i could get like 30 min rest, but kinda hard when you can't go all the way back..
why should auto manufacturers have to change their designs to keep idiots alive.. isn't that why its called 'natural selection' ?
how is a seat reclining all the way a 'defect' ? the people are defective in my opinion for not using their brain.
why should auto manufacturers have to change their designs to keep idiots alive.. isn't that why its called 'natural selection' ?
how is a seat reclining all the way a 'defect' ? the people are defective in my opinion for not using their brain.
01-17-2012, 08:39 PM
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The angle of recline on your seat is proportional to the intensity of skidz ripped. Here's proof.
If you are going to be doing skidz, the only place for your left hand is hanging over the top of the steering wheel. Right hand is to hold beer. With your left arm firmly locked in the skidz position, you have now become a large, pivoting space frame. Reclining the seat simply removes the force holding you in place. Your feet fall onto the accelerator and brake, causing maximum hektik levels of brah appeal in all of your skidz.
If you are going to be doing skidz, the only place for your left hand is hanging over the top of the steering wheel. Right hand is to hold beer. With your left arm firmly locked in the skidz position, you have now become a large, pivoting space frame. Reclining the seat simply removes the force holding you in place. Your feet fall onto the accelerator and brake, causing maximum hektik levels of brah appeal in all of your skidz.