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Products Liability Keyed Owen, 8th Ed.
Magnuson v. Kelsey-Hayes Co.
Citation:
844 S.W.2d 448 (1992)Facts
On September 23, 1987, four-and-a-half-year-old Eric Magnuson was injured when struck by a wheel and tire that broke loose from a passing Dodge pickup truck. The wheel had been designed by Kelsey-Hayes and Chrysler, and manufactured by Kelsey-Hayes Canada under Kelsey-Hayes’ direction and quality standards. Eric suffered a contre-coup brain injury and went into a coma. Upon waking, he suffered from bilateral cortical blindness, leaving him with residual visual perception defects. As a result of his injuries, Eric suffers from permanent right side hemiparesis, retarded growth of his right leg, arm, and hand, auditory impairment, aphasia, fine motor skills defects, poor balance, and diminished cognitive thinking. Expert testimony established that Eric is unlikely to be employed in a competitive market, with projected lost earnings exceeding $1,130,000. At trial, Dr. Robert Bohl, Magnuson’s expert metallurgist, testified that the steel forming the wheel had a defective microstructure that could have been detected through microscopic examination. He concluded that the design was reasonable but failure occurred due to poor metallurgical structure related to cooling the steel too slowly during rolling. The jury returned a $4,750,000 verdict against Kelsey-Hayes and Kelsey-Hayes Canada.
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