The widow of a man who is alleged to have died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident has filed a civil suit against the makers of the vehicle he was driving, contending the car’s design contributed to his death.
Philadelphia attorneys Shanin Specter, Dominic C. Guerrini and Kila B. Baldwin, of the city firm Kline & Specter, filed the product liability complaint Aug. 22 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Delaware resident Maria Laura Fabiola Santos Fonseca, adminstratrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Daniel Lopez Ortiz.
The defendant named in the lawsuit is Harrisburg, Pa.-based General Motors Corporation, care of CT. Corp. Systems.
The lawsuit, which contains counts of strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty and wrongful death, alleges that the 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier that Daniel Lopez Ortiz was driving on April 13, 2009, was “defective in design and unreasonably dangerous with respect to its fuel integrity in the event of a crash, and said defective and unreasonably dangerous condition was a substantial factor in the death of Daniel Lopez Ortiz.”
The lawsuit accuses the defendant of failing to provide the car with adequate or proper warning of the absence of an adequate fuel integrity system, failing to outfit the car with protective devices and/or safety features to prevent injuries caused by the absence of an adequate fuel integrity system, and failing to properly design the vehicle in order to avoid injuries caused by the absence of an adequate fuel integrity system.
The lawsuit also has a survival action count.
For each of the five counts listed, the plaintiff demands judgment against the defendant in an amount in excess of $50,000, plus interest and court costs.
A jury trial has been demanded.
The case number is 110803318.
Widow of car accident victim sues General Motors Corp.
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