Fanara v. General Motors Corporation
A chiropractor brought an action in Barnstable (Massachusetts) Superior Court, alleging that defects in the supplemental restraint system, brake system and seat belt in his 1996 GMC Suburban caused multiple injuries, including Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, which affected his knees and shoulder. He demanded $1million in damages for his injuries, lost wages and future income.
Prior to trial the plaintiff conceded that because he had no experts to show a defect in the brakes or seatbelt, he would not pursue those claims. At trial the plaintiff did not produce an expert witness to testify about a defect in the air bag, but rather relied on a statement in the owner’s manual that described the circumstances under which an airbag could deploy. He claimed that he was driving between 40 and 45 mph when he rear-ended a van, and, therefore, the airbag should have deployed. The judge would have let this claim go to the jury, but because the plaintiff had not produced an expert to testify that the airbag’s failure to deploy enhanced his injuries, the judge directed a verdict in favor of General Motors Corporation.
