Mo. Lawyer Reconquers Maryland
Lexington lawyer Bob Langdon has emerged from a Baltimore courtroom with a $59 million verdict -- a Maryland record -- in a products liability case involving Toyota.
Langdon represented Prashant Kumar, a passenger in a 1996 Toyota Tercel, who had both legs amputated above the knee after the car he was riding in was hit head on by another vehicle. At the time of the accident, Kumar was reclining in the seat and "submarined" under the seatbelt upon impact and struck his legs on the dashboard.
Langdon claimed that: Toyota failed to warn passengers that reclining in the seat while the car was in motion was dangerous; the car had a defective seat track design because it allowed the seat to slide forward during the collision; and the car was defectively designed because it allowed the passenger to recline in an unsafe position while the car was in motion.
A jury returned a verdict of $59,754,782.06 which included $763,365 in past medical expenses, $5 million for future medical expenses, almost $4 million for future lost earnings, and $50 million in non-economic damages. Toyota was found to be 30 percent responsible for causing the injuries and the driver of the other vehicle was assessed 70 percent of the responsibility.
Who held the Maryland record before Langdon? Langdon -- in 1996 he won $26 million in a products case against Ford.
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