Recent Verdicts and Settlements of Harris Penn & Lowry

Atlanta, Georgia - July 10, 2007 - Just days after a tragic minivan accident in Connecticut claimed four lives, Chrysler settled a lawsuit involving the death of an 18 month old Atlanta boy who died under similar circumstances in 2006. The amount and terms of the settlement are confidential.

The family of Ian Escobar sued Chrysler after Ian was run over and killed by the family's 1997 Plymouth Voyager Minivan on June 6, 2006. Ians brother, Gabriel, 4, shifted the vehicle out of park causing it to roll over Ian.

The family's lawsuit alleged that the vehicle was defective because, unlike most cars, the vehicle did not have a brake shift interlock device that prevents it from being shifted out of park unless the brake pedal is depressed. Chrysler did not install the safety feature on its vehicles until 2001.

Police in Connecticut are investigating a similar accident where a 1999 Grand Voyager plunged into a lake during a family 4th of July outing because a child passenger in the van apparently shifted the vehicle out of park. Three children and the adult driver drowned after they were unable to escape from the submerged van.

Chryslers failure to incorporate a brake shift interlock device in its minivans has prompted a number of lawsuits against the company and resulted in a 4.5 million dollar verdict against the automaker in 2005.

A federal jury in Atlanta found Chrysler negligent in a case brought by the family of 2 year old Madison Hamby after Madison shifted a Chrysler minivan out of park causing it to roll down a hill. Hamby was ejected from the vehicle, run over, and killed. The family alleged that a brake shift interlock device would have prevented the Hamby accident and during trial pointed to hundreds of other similar accidents involving children shifting Chrysler vehicles out of park.

Consumer law attorneys Jeffrey R. Harris and Darren W. Penn of the Atlanta law firm Harris Penn & Lowry, LLP represented the Hamby family at trial, and also represented the Escobar family in connection with the recent settlement. The law firm has been involved in a number of cases against Chrysler for the automakers failure to incorporate a brake shift interlock device in its vehicles.

I am grateful that we were able to get this case resolved on behalf of the Escobar family, said Harris, but this recent tragedy in Connecticut underscores the fact that these vehicles are very, very dangerous and need to be recalled.

Although Chrysler began installing brake shift interlock devices on its minivans in 2001, the company actually designed its 1996-2000 model year minivans to include the interlock device but decided not to include the 9 dollar part on those vehicles because it was not a mandatory safety feature. It is inconceivable that this company would choose not to include this simple safety feature in vehicles it markets and sells to families said attorney Harris.

As a result of a 2006 voluntary agreement between Chrysler and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) all Chrysler vehicles will be equipped with a brake shift interlock device by 2010. The agreement does not require that older vehicles like the 1999 model year minivan involved in the Connecticut accident be recalled and incorporated with the device. That leaves approximately 9 million Chrysler minivans that have been sold without the brake shift interlock feature.

A jury in New Brunswick, New Jersey ordered Ford Motor Company to pay more than $10.6 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages in their verdict on Wednesday, April 18, 2007, in the New Jersey Middlesex County Superior Court. The $10.6 million was subsequently reduced to $8.3 million after comparative fault and interest was applied. 

On November 10, 2000, Rebekah Zakrocki was injured when the gas pedal on her 1997 Ford Explorer stuck, which caused the 22 year old's Explorer to roll over on the Garden State Parkway near Brick Township, New Jersey.  Zakrocki's right hand was amputated and she suffered a total bracheoplexis injury rendering her right arm paralyzed and dangling from her body.

During the trial in New Jersey state court the jury learned that Ford received more than 59,000 complaints of its gas pedals sticking on its 1997 and 1998 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers during the four years prior to Zakrocki's accident.  Despite pressure from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Ford refused to warn its customers or recall the defective throttles which were causing the gas pedal to stick prior to Zakrocki's accident.

Attorney Stephen G. Lowry of the law firm of Harris Penn & Lowry, LLP in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia and Barry Eichen from Eichen Levinson & Crutchlow, LLP in Edison, New Jersey represented Rebekah Zakrocki in her case against Ford Motor Company.

"I hope Ford will learn to act immediately when it knows its vehicles pose a danger to its consumer."  Said Lowry.

A Federal jury in Atlanta, Georgia ordered DaimlerChrysler to pay a total of $3.4 million for failing to warn of children shifting its minivans out of park, causing them to roll, and for failing to warn that its minivans did not have a brake shift interlock, which prevents vehicles from being shifted out of park without depressing the brake pedal.

The family of Alicia Goodwin settled a lawsuit against the air ambulance company that owned and operated a helicopter that crashed near Newberry, South Carolina while taking off from Interstate 26. The helicopter was attempting to transport Goodwin after she was hit by a truck near a rest area. Goodwin was killed in the collision, along with the flight nurse, flight paramedic and the pilot. From the medical reports it appeared that Goodwin suffered a leg injury that was not life threatening.

The lawyers at Harris Penn & Lowry recently reached a confidential settlement with the Ford Motor Company arising from a case in which a young girl was catastrophically injured by a defective seat belt. The case settled after extensive pre-trial discovery. Recovery in a class action against a law firm for wrongfully taking money from clients when cases were settled.

• Cadle v. Southbridge Development, Fulton County Superior Court (2005) – Nicholas Cadle was killed by a drunk driver while walking on the side of a country road in Effingham County. Upon investigation by the lawyers at Harris Penn & Lowry LLP, it was determined that the intoxicated driver was a manager of a restaurant where he drank between 10 and 15 beers while working. It was also found that it was not an isolated incident as there had been many occasions when employees of the bar and restaurant drank and became intoxicated. Two weeks prior to proceeding to trial the case resolved for a confidential amount at mediation.

• Milton v. The City of Sylvester, Georgia, Superior Court of Worth County - A city work crew failed to adequately mark a manhole which was repaired that day. Johnny Milton an Albany State University police Corporal was driving to his fiancées house when he hit the manhole and run off the road. His truck went into a ditch and hit a driveway causing the truck to be vaulted into the air. Johnny was ejected out of the truck and the truck landed on top of him causing his eventual death. The case was resolved for a confidential amount at mediation.

• Emilio v. Elderth Construction Co. et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia (2005) - Two sisters, their parents and a young child were returning home from a Florida Vacation on I-95. Upon stopping for traffic their vehicle was rear ended by a tractor trailer. The investigation of the case revealed that within the month prior to the collision the truck driver had multiple hours of service violations, causing him to drive excessive amounts of time without adequate rest. The case resolved at mediation prior to trial for a confidential settlement amount.
  
  Recovery for a man who received a severe brain injury when his SUV was T-boned by linen delivery truck. The evidence showed that the company failed to follow federal regulations when hiring and employing this truck driver. The truck driver also failed the vision test in his physical exam and had a prior criminal record involving the use and sale of narcotics.
• Iturralde v. Estes Trucking, (2005) Multi-Million dollar settlement against a trucking company whose negligent driver ran into the rear of a mini-van. The van was crushed as it tumbled off the highway. The collision killed an elderly couple seated in the rear and severely injured their daughter and son-in-law who were seated in the front of the mini-van.

• Reese v. Wellstar Health System, Inc. et al. - In this case, firm partner Jeffrey Harris, along with several other attorneys from Scheriffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres, represented Donna Reese, who suffered from abdominal pain after gallbladder surgery. After undergoing an HIDA scan, Ms. Reese was told by the defendant, Dr. Burns, that she had a bile duct leak. The surgery for the leak revealed that she actually had no bile duct leak. Dr. Burns's advice resulted in unnecessary surgery.
  
  Worst of all, the surgery for the bile duct leak resulted in a punctured bowel, requiring 5 months of hospitalization and ongoing treatment. On July 5, 2005, Attorney Harris and his colleagues gained a $3.5 million verdict to pay for Ms. Reese's past and future medical expenses.
• Britos v. Sterling Medical Corp. et al., Liberty County Superior Court (2005) - Alport's Syndrome - Ms. Britos was diagnosed with Alport's Syndrome a hereditary chronic kidney disease. Since it is passed on the X Chromosome Alport's syndrome is mild in women. Ms. Britos mother was in her 60s with no adverse consequences to her kidneys and her grandmother did not lose kidney function until her 80s. Ms. Britos had maintained stable kidney function with proper medication, diet, exercise and regular check ups of her kidney function. While in Liberty County, Ms. Britos was treated by the defendants who failed to monitor her kidney function, prescribed medications which damaged the kidneys and allowed her blood pressure to rise without control, which is detrimental to kidney function. These actions caused Ms. Britos to spiral into end stage renal disease which was diagnosed by a different doctor. Ms. Britos had to have a kidney transplant. Her case resolved at mediation prior to trial for a confidential settlement amount.

• Wallace v. Triangle Construction Company and Carroll & Carroll, Superior Court of Chatham County (2005) - Road Defect - A road construction company and a paver failed to adequately mark a raised median which was a known hazard. The failures included several violations of DOT regulations. During the litigation, plaintiffs were able to identify six similar accidents in a span of 24 hours on a rainy day. Several individuals were injured including a compression fracture of the lumbar spine. The cases were resolved at mediation prior to trial for a confidential settlement amount.
  
  Recovery for a man who lost half of his foot due to a defective bucket locking device on a front end loader.

• Negligent Driving - Multi-million dollar settlement for a man that was hit by a speeding SUV while changing a tire on the side of a road. He sustained serious life threatening injuries including a traumatic brain injury. The case was settled prior to filing a lawsuit. (2005).
• Hogan v. Phillips, Chatham County Superior Court $4 million verdict obtained for a permanently disabled police officer who suffered a broken neck after being run off the road by a fleeing suspect.

• Rhonda Sasser, on behalf of her child, Kelsey Sasser V. Ford Motor Company - Firm partner Jeffrey Harris represented Rhonda Sasser, whose child suffered a fractured spinal cord when a seat back in a Lincoln collapsed on her. The child suffers from paraplegia, unable to move anything below her T-2 vertebrae.
  
  Attorney Harris, along with his colleagues from Scheriffius, Ballard, Still & Ayres, convinced a jury that Ford was not only guilty of allowing this injury to occur, but had a long history of ignoring the dangers of this defect. The jury awarded our client $33,868,000 and also levied $13,959,311 of punitive damages against Ford.
• Cameron v. Isuzu, Fulton County State Court (2001) - Recovery for the family of a wife and mother, who was crushed when her SUV rolled over as a result of a defective suspension system. The case proceeded against the manufacturer for a manufacturing defect in the welds and the suspension system and a design defect for the roof crush of the Isuzu Trooper.
• Johnson v. Nissan, United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia (2003) - A passenger seated behind the driver and wearing a lap belt only was paralyzed in a frontal collision. The paralysis was caused by the lap belt sliding up to the abdominal area during the collision and causing excessive loads on the spinal column. This phenomenon is known as submarining and is well known to automotive industry. It is caused by defective design in the seat and seatbelt which do not allow the belt to fit properly and to stay on the hips during a collision. The case resolved prior to trial.
• Maddox v. Toyota, United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia (2003) - Recovery for the family of a woman killed in a low speed frontal collision due to the lack of structural crashworthiness. During the minor collision, the steering wheel moved rearward and upward causing the 53 year old woman to break her neck.
• Wright v. General Motors , Superior Court of Richmond County (2004) - Class action based on excessive and dangerous vibration in pick up trucks. The case was resolved prior to the class being certified by the court.

• Recovery for the family of a man, who died from third degree burns on over 80% of his body when a door on a boiler at a chicken processing plant was opened due to a defective locking mechanism, and he was sprayed with scalding chicken remains.

• Recovery for an elderly couple that were physically attacked while staying at a Savannah motel. During the discovery phase, it was learned that not only had many instances of criminal activity occurred prior to this attack but that the owners knew of this activity and permitted it on their property. The case was resolved prior to trial. (2005)