PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia jury issued a near $1 billion verdict on Monday in the trial of a man who sustained permanent paralysis injuries when the seatbelt of his Mitsubishi sports car allegedly failed during a collision in 2017.
Francis Amagasu and Soomi Amagasu of New Hope first filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 20, 2018 versus Mitsubishi Motors Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, Mitsubishi Motors of North America, Inc. of Cypress, Calif., and Fred Beans Family of Dealerships, Fred Beans Ford, Inc., Fred Beans Kia of Limerick, Fred Beans Motors of Limerick, Inc., all of Doylestown. (Mitsubishi was the only defendant at trial.)
Amagasu was driving his 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT in Buckingham Township on Nov. 11. 2017, and when he tried to avoid another vehicle on the road, his car rolled over. Though he was wearing a seatbelt, it was one made with a so-called “rip-stitch” design, in which the belt rips apart to, in theory, better manage the forces in a crash.
However, Amagasu and his attorneys argued the seatbelt intentionally tears apart and becomes four inches longer, making it easier for the driver to move around. As a result, Amagasu’s head was forced into the car’s roof, and he broke his neck.
The plaintiffs further argued that Mitsubishi failed to conduct proper tests on its seatbelt system and that the company was reckless in its design of the 3000GT vehicle, which they say also led to Mr. Amagasu’s permanent injuries.
Prior to the accident, Mr. Amagasu was a master woodworker. Samples of work by his grandfather, artist George Nakashima, are on display in the Smithsonian.
After brief deliberations, the jury found in the plaintiffs’ favor to the tune of $976.5 million, comprised of $176.5 million in compensatory damages and $800 million in punitive damages. Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Sierra Thomas-Street presided in the case.
An attorney for the plaintiffs, Nancy J. Winkler of Eisenberg Rothweiler Winkler Eisenberg & Jeck in Philadelphia, said that “justice was served for our clients.”
“The message was sent loud and clear to Mitsubishi and other car manufacturers that they cannot expect to sell defective, unsafe products that injure people in Pennsylvania and get away with it. The juries in this Commonwealth will hold them accountable. An individual plaintiff like Mr. Amagasu can go up against a huge corporation in a courtroom and a brave jury’s verdict can send a very powerful message that companies cannot continue to put profits over safety,” Winkler said.
Fellow member of plaintiff counsel Kyle W. Farrar, of the Houston, Texas-based Kastar Lynch Farrar & Ball firm, commented on the trial result.
“It sends the message to the defendant that if you don’t take safety seriously and people are injured, you have to pay the price. The message to other plaintiffs is that we have a great system where a single individual can take on massive corporations and be on a fair, level playing field,” Farrar said.
Farrar’s law partner, Wes Ball, also spoke to the impact of the jury’s verdict.
“Mr. Amagasu lives in a rehab facility now, but it may as well just be a prison cell. He’s in a 10-by-12 room and has had to re-learn how to speak. But he testified and the jury heard his voice, loud and clear,” Ball stated.
In response to the verdict, a Mitsubishi spokesperson offered a statement and called the verdict amount “egregious.”
“We are very disappointed at the jury’s decision, and fully intend to appeal. The amount of the decision is egregious, and we believe there are significant legal and evidentiary issues to be addressed on appeal. Mitsubishi Motors vehicles are, and have been, among the safest on the road, having won multiple safety awards to attest to that fact,” per the spokesperson.
The plaintiffs were represented by Nancy J. Winkler, Fredric S. Eisenberg, Jessica A. Colliver and Daniel J. Sherry Jr. of Eisenberg Rothweiler Winkler Eisenberg & Jeck in Philadelphia, plus Wesley T. Ball and Kyle W. Farrar of Kastar Lynch Farrar & Ball in Houston.
The defendants were represented by Emily J. Rogers and Kiernan G. Cavanagh of Campbell Trial Lawyers, in Berwyn.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 181102406
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com