Plaintiff, a 6-year-old, was riding in the front seat of his father's SUV when, in an effort to avoid colliding with defendant's vehicle, the father swerved, which caused the SUV to turnover. Plaintiff was partially ejected from the SUV, with his left leg pinned between the vehicle and the road, and then was dragged 140 feet. The result was an amputation of plaintiff's leg below the knee, while plaintiff was conscious. Plaintiff's mother sued the defendant driver based on negligence, and sued the SUV manufacturer and the car dealer under a products liability theory. Defense argued that the father was negligent for speeding and caused the SUV to roll over. Further, defense counsel noted that the father was charged with failing to seat belt his child. However, plaintiffs' accident reconstruction expert testified that there were loading marks on the plaintiff's seat belt, indicating that the plaintiff was seat belted at the time of the accident.
VERDICT: $10,680,000. (The jury found the defendant 65% liable, and the father 35% liable, thus the total recovery is $6,942,000.)
Angela Maharaj, as Parent and Natural Guardian of Kameran Maharaj v. Junie Telfort (Palm Beach County, Florida, Case no. 502008CA003705).