Texas Judge Reaches Verdict In Toyota Lawsuit

Texas Judge Reaches Verdict In Toyota Lawsuit

A lawsuit that began in 2016 has finally been concluded in Dallas County, Texas. In September of that year, Kristi and Benjamin Reavis were involved in a rear-end collision while driving their 2002 Lexus ES 300. Unfortunately during the impact, the front seats buckled backward injuring the couple's small children in the back seat. 

The jury took longer than 8 hours to come back with the verdict. They found that Toyota was liable for the injuries to the two children, which were so severe that they have left many permanent issues. They found for the plaintiff, who purported that the defects in the Lexus model's seats made them "unreasonably dangerous." 

More than $242 million was awarded to the family, $143.6 million of which was punitive. The jury found that Toyota failed to properly protect passengers in the front seat, choosing to instead increase the safety of the front seat occupants. Representation for the plaintiffs stated that Toyota knew about the dangers and failed to act upon them. As a result, the Reavis' children, aged three and five at the tie of the incident received brain trauma and a skull fracture. The full extent of the long-term damage won't likely be known for years. We and our partners at B Street Collision Center here in OMAHA, NE send our sincere hopes that the children make a full recovery over time.

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source: dallasnews.com