A jury in San Angelo, Texas found Hyundai Motor Company responsible for the wrongful death of a woman due to a reclining car seat. The jury awarded the victim's family $1.8 million after determining that the woman died because her reclining car seat was overly-reclined.
According to the San Angelo Standard-Times, Sarah Goodner died three years ago in a car accident while in the passenger seat of her sister's 2005 Hyundai Tucson. Goodner was wearing a seat belt but was thrown from the vehicle because her seat was reclined too far back. Experts at the trial argued that reclining a car seat more that 45 degrees can be dangerous. However, the Hyundai Tucson, like most of the 237 million cars in the US, allows front passenger seats to recline more than this.
It has long been known that car seats are only effective if worn correctly and reclining a seat too far can cause the seat belt to not be positioned correctly. According to an article on the subject in Slate magazine, car manufacturers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have known about the danger of overly-reclined seats since the 1980s. Most car manufacturers only include a brief warning of the dangers of over-reclining your seat in the owner's manual.
This case highlights and important factor for all car passengers. Many people think that if a car manufacturer includes a feature, such as reclining seats, and the government allows it, it must be safe. However, that is not always the case. In addition, the causes of injuries or death in a car accident are not always obvious, so after any accident you should contact an experienced Arizona auto accident attorney to investigate your case.
