Products Liability
Wrongful Death
$11,300,000
Type of Action: Products liability
Type of Injuries: Wrongful death
Court/Case #/Date: U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri/91-0991-CV-W-8/August 20, 1993
Caption: Baker v. General Motors Corporation
Judge or Jury Case: Jury
Name of Judge: Judge Joseph Stevens Jr.
Settlement or Verdict: $11,300,000 verdict for Plaintiff
Allocation of Fault: 100 percent to Defendant
Attorneys for Plaintiff: Robert L. Langdon, J. Kent Emison and Carter J. Ross
Plaintiff's Experts: John Stilson, Grays Lake, Ill., design engineer; Dr. John Lenox, San Antonio, Texas, biomechanic; Jerry Wallingford, San Antonio, Texas, accident reconstructionist; John Kennedy, Chicago, Ill., cause and origin of fire
Defendant's Experts: Frank C. Sonye Jr., electrical; Robert C. Lange, design, accident reconstructionist, cause and origin of fire; Richard L. Stalnaker, biomechanic; Dr. Werner U. Spitz, cause of death; James Nelander, design, cause and origin of fire; William Cichowski, design, cause and origin of fire.
Facts of the Case: This products liability/wrongful death action arose out of a two-vehicle head-on collision involving a 1985 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer in which the deceased, a 29-year-old female, was a front-seat passenger. The Blazer caught fire after the collision. The plaintiff brought suit against General Motors Corporation claiming the Blazer was equipped with a fuel pump that was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous, and that the explosion which followed the collision was proximately caused by the defective design of the fuel pump. The plaintiff claimed the fuel pump did not have a shut-off valve to prevent the continuous pumping of fuel in case of an accident. Due to the defendant's failure to produce relevant documents during discovery, the judge sanctioned the defendant and found as a matter of law that the fuel pump was defectively designed.
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