Heco v. Midstate Dodge LLC et al. began with a devastating injury and ended with one of the most significant automotive defect verdicts in Vermont. In 2013, a Chittenden County jury awarded Dzemila Heco $43.1 million for the life-altering spinal cord injury she suffered when the driver’s seat in her 2000 Dodge Neon collapsed during a rear-end collision.
The trial became a defining moment in seatback-failure litigation and remains an important example of why automotive safety standards and accountability matter for every family on the road.
Langdon & Emison had the privilege of representing Ms. Heco, advocating for answers, accountability, and long-overdue recognition of the dangers posed by weak seatback designs.
Dzemila Heco’s story
The plaintiff in Heco v. Midstate Dodge LLC et al. was Ms. Dzemila Heco, a survivor of the Bosnia civil war who emigrated to the U.S. and has since worked tirelessly to provide for her family. In 2007, she was stopped at a red light when another vehicle struck her Dodge Neon from behind. 
The impact caused the driver’s seatback to collapse rearward, throwing her into the back, where her head struck the back seat. The failure of the seat, seatbelt system, and other restraint components left her with a severe spinal cord injury and permanent quadraplegia. 
Her two sons, who were also named in the early filings, helped care for their mother, with one ultimately putting his college education on hold to support her daily needs. Her case became not only a legal matter, but a story of a family adjusting to a new reality while seeking justice for a preventable harm.
Ms. Heco filed suit against:
- Midstate Dodge, the dealership
- Chrysler Group LLC, the vehicle manufacturer
- Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI), the seat manufacturer
- Autoliv ASP, Inc., the seatbelt manufacturer 
Each entity had a role in designing, manufacturing, or selling components that were alleged to have failed during the crash.
“Rear-end accidents happen all the time, but especially in a minor wreck like this one, you shouldn’t be paralyzed,” said lead attorney Bob Langdon, who has tried several precedential cases around the country in auto products litigation, including the Ford/Firestone matters that received national media attention.
How the case narrowed—and why Johnson Controls went to trial
Several companies were named when the lawsuit was first filed, including the dealership, the vehicle manufacturer, and the makers of the seat and seatbelt. Over the next few years, most of those claims were settled. Autoliv settled first, followed by Midstate Dodge and Chrysler Group. 
By the time the case reached a jury in 2013, only one company remained: Johnson Controls, the designer and manufacturer of the seatback. The key issue was whether the seat’s design was strong enough to protect the driver in a rear-end collision. Evidence showed that the seatback could rotate and collapse under forces that were anticipated. Experts also testified about safer designs that could have prevented the collapse.
The trial focused entirely on the seatback design and whether its failure played a direct role in Ms. Heco’s injuries.
How the jury reached its record verdict
The jury agreed, and at the conclusion of the June 2013 trial, found in favor of Ms. Heco and awarded her over $43.1 million. The case featured expert testimony on seat design failures and on the biomechanics of preventable injuries. Additional expert testimony focused on the legal concept of corporate negligence, which proved a key factor in the jury’s decision.
As the trial progressed, a Johnson Controls representative attempted to shift the blame to Chrysler, and the attempt was so blatant that the jury found it offensive, as it was clear that Johnson Controls had designed the seat. And, the jurors recognized the human toll behind engineering failures, issuing a record-setting verdict to drive this home.
“This is a good example of why we do what we do,” said Langdon, who is a Fellow in both the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. “This family had no means to support their mother, who, through no fault of her own, became paralyzed for life. This is an example of the type of complex case that we like to take on, from a wreck that she should have been able to walk away from.”
How this case impacted auto product liability
Heco v. Midstate Dodge LLC et al. isn’t the only landmark case Langdon & Emison has litigated. The firm has demonstrated expertise in other defective auto parts cases, such as seatback collapse, defective airbags, fuel-fire, and tire defect cases, including:
- Reliford v. Honda/Takata Corp., in which Langdon & Emison represented a young man who lost the use of his right eye when a Takata airbag ruptured
- Kumar v. Toyota, Reclined Seat case, with a verdict of $59 million
- Castillo v. Ford, Vehicle Rollover/Tire Detread Case, in which a Ford Explorer rolled over several times when the left tire detreaded, leaving the driver with catastrophic injuries, including quadriplegia, resulting in a $23 million verdict
Learn more about Langdon & Emison’s work on improving consumer safety
It’s through landmark cases, like Heco v. Midstate Dodge LLC et al., and others we mentioned above, that true change in auto parts safety is accomplished. Although vehicle and parts manufacturers take steps to ensure occupant safety, many corporations prioritize profits over safety, as these cases and others show. The work of defective consumer product litigators, like those at Langdon & Emison and personal injury law firms across the country, is critical to holding these negligent corporations accountable for the human toll their errors cause.
For more information about Langdon & Emison’s commitment to vehicle safety, or to discuss a case of your own, call (866) 931-2115.
