Negligent Seatbelt Manufacturing Results in Catastrophic Personal Injury Lawsuit

Case Title: Anchondo v. DaimlerChrysler, et al.

On February 14, 2003, a six-year-old child riding in the car with a friend of the family suffered life-altering injuries when the car was in a head-on collision with another vehicle. The child was seated behind the driver and belted in with the standard adult seatbelt. He had outgrown his child safety seat and the regular, factory-supplied seat belt was believed to be ample protection. While traveling down Highway 71 in Austin, Texas, the driver realized the car in front of her had stopped to make a left turn. As she slammed on the brakes, the car hydroplaned, and she spun into oncoming traffic where she crashed into another car head-on. The child suffered a severed mesentery artery, damaged spleen, and damage to his spinal cord that resulted in paralysis. Ultimately, the seatbelts were shown to be inappropriate for children who had outgrown child safety seats but were still not of adult size.

Slack Davis Sanger represented the family of the six-year old child, earning a confidential settlement from DaimlerChrysler for its negligence in manufacturing and selling cars with inappropriate restraints.

Mike Davis led the firm’s personal injury and trial litigation practice for nearly 30 years. He handled numerous personal injury cases throughout his career, including 18-wheeler accidents, serious car accidents, and oilfield accidents.