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Brett
v. Toyota Motor Company
This
case was the result of an accident wherein Mr. and Mrs.
Brett were killed and three other individuals in the
same vehicle were seriously injured when a Toyota Cressida
was struck head on by a Toyota four wheel drive pick
up truck pulling a trailer. The first phase of the case
resulted in a settlement against the uninsured motorist
carrier for the Lacey family (passengers in the Toyota
Cressida), with the uninsured motorist coverage company
paying two times the amount of coverage which they had,
based upon allegations of bad faith for failure to negotiate
within the initial three years from the time the accident
occurred. The remainder of the case was prosecuted against
Toyota alleging two separate theories. One theory was
that the Toyota four wheel drive pick up truck, which
impacted the Plaintiff's vehicle, was unreasonably dangerous
and defective by reason of its instability, which contributed
to the loss of control and collision. The other portion
of the case against Toyota was an allegation that the
rear seat passenger (center position), a 15 year old
teenager, suffered a serious abdominal, intestinal and
back injury as the result of being provided a lap belt
only. The teenager's mother was seated in the rear seat
and to the teenager's left and was restrained by a lap
and shoulder restraint and had minimal physical injuries.
Yet her son was grievously injured as a result of the
injury produced by the lap belt.
After
lengthy discovery, this case was settled for a confidential
amount at a mediation proceeding before Trial.
PLAINTIFF'S
ATTORNEY:
Ralph E. Chapman, of Chapman, Lewis & Swan in Clarksdale,
MS. Referring attorney: Harvey Henderson of Sumner,
MS.
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS:
Mark Jicka, of Watkins and Eager in Jackson, MS and
Michael K. Graves, of Holcomb Dunbar in Clarksdale,
MS.
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