Jury awards $980M Mitsubishi verdict in man’s defective seat belt lawsuit

Mitsubishi verdict overview: 

• Who: Mitsubishi was ordered to pay $980 million to the family of a man who was left paralyzed after a 2017 accident, according to Law360.  
• Why: The jury found that the Mitsubishi 3000 GT’s seat belt did not work properly and led to the defendant’s injuries in the rollover crash.
• Where: The Mitsubishi verdict came in Philadelphia County’s Court of Common Pleas.

Mitsubishi was ordered to pay $980 million by a Philadelphia County jury related to a 2017 rollover crash in a Mitsubishi 3000 GT where the seat belt did not operate properly, according to Law360.

The jury awarded Francis Amagasu and his family $180 million in compensatory damages and $800 million in punitive damages in the verdict, Law360 reported.

During the crash, the driver lost control of the vehicle and it left the roadway.

“As a result of the crash and rollover sequence, Francis Amagasu sustained catastrophic injuries to the spine, neck, head and body, that have rendered him paralyzed and totally incapable of caring for himself,” the Mitsubishi seat belt lawsuit says.

Due to the injuries, Francis’ spouse Soomi Amagsu took over power of attorney for Francis to act on her spouse’s behalf, the lawsuit says. 

Crash was caused by negligent maintenance from Mitsubishi dealership, lawsuit claimed

The 2017 crash happened when Francis Amagasu attempted to maneuver around another vehicle and the vehicle lost control and left the roadway, something the lawsuit attributes to negligent maintenance, repairs and inspections from the Fred Bean Family of Dealerships.

The 1992 Mitsubishi 3000 GT was “defective and unreasonably dangerous” because the seat belt did not operate correctly, the roof was not adequately strong in the event of a rollover and because it could not withstand ordinary and foreseeable damage, the Mitsubishi seat belt lawsuit claimed.

Mitsubishi said earlier this year that there is no basis for reviving a faulty hood class action claim, according to a motion in a Massachusetts federal court

Have you had issues with a seatbelt operating properly? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Stewart J. Eisenberg, Nancy J. Winkler and Daniel J. Sherry of Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg and Jeck P.C..

The Mitsubishi seat belt lawsuit is Amagasu v. Fred Bean Family of Dealerships, et al., Case No. 181102406, in the Court of Common Pleas Philadelphia County.

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