Missouri Auto Accident Lawsuit Over Seatback Failure Results in $8M Award

The family of a 2-year-old girl who was partially paralyzed in a 2007 auto accident in Missouri was awarded $8 million by a jury last month, in a case involving a seat-back failure during a rear-end collision. 

The Missouri auto accident lawsuit was filed by the family of Aaliyah George, who suffered a traumatic head injury on October 24, 2007. During the crash, the driver’s seat of a 1997 Dodge Neon, which was occupied by Aaliyah’s grandmother, fell backwards and struck the toddler while she was strapped into her car seat.

Johnson Controls, Inc., which designed and manufactured the seat, was named as a defendant in the product liability lawsuit.

As a result of the Dodge Neon seat-back failure, Aaliyah suffered multiple skull fractures and has been left with permanent partial paralysis on her right side, leaving only limited use of her right leg. She also suffered brain damage that has greatly diminished her learning, speech and thought capabilities. The family argued at trial that she will likely never be able to function as an independent adult.

Following a two week trial last month, a Platte County Circuit Court jury found for the family and awarded $8 million in compensatory damages.