Woman Sues General Motors For Wrongful Death
Posted by
Chrissie ColeApril 17, 2009 11:06 PM
General Motors is named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by a woman who claims her daughter’s death was caused by GM’s defective seat belts.
The suit, filed April 7 in the Eastern District of Texas by Patricia Seals, wrongful death beneficiary and representative of the estate of her daughter, seeks in excess of $75,000 from GM for emotional pain and suffering, medical expenses, funeral, lost earnings and more.
The complaint alleges Karen Seals was the front seat passenger in a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier when the vehicle was in a collision on June 13, 2008.
Karen Seals was using the available seat belt restraint, the suit states, but during the collision the "webbing of the seat belt restraint system ripped," leaving Karen unrestrained. The plaintiff alleges that the seat belt failure was the proximate cause of the serious injuries from which Karen Seals died.
The plaintiff brings strict liability claims and negligence claims on behalf of Karen Seals.
"Defendant's defective products and their conduct were proximate and/or producing causes of the death of Karen Beth Seals and all damages to Plaintiff set forth herein," the complaint states.
The lawsuit alleges the vehicle, including the restraint system, was not properly designed to offer adequate occupant protection or restraint in foreseeable crashes. The suit also claims GM is negligent in testing the Cavalier and its components to ensure occupant protections were in place.