Date: 05-24-1999

Case Style: Norma E. Pruitt v. General Motors Corporation

Case Number: CIV 163258

Judge: Marvin H. Lewis

Court: Superior Court, Ventura County, California

Plaintiff's Attorney: Kevin M. Fillo, Marcus M. Kaufman and Ellen K. Wolf of Wolf, Seider, Abrams & Wolf, Los Angeles, California

Defendant's Attorney: David M. Heilbron, Leslie G. Landau and Robert A. Brundage of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, L.L.P., San Francisco, California and Derek S. Whitefield of Grace, Genson, Cosgrove & Schirm, P.C., Los Angeles, California; Vincent Galvin of Bowman and Brooke, San Jose, California

Description: Products liability - air bag. On March 22, 1995, plaintiff was driving her 1991 Chevrolet Beretta manufactured by General Motors Corporation. The seatbelt and should harness were buckled. She turned left at an intersction and collided with an oncoming car. The driver's side air bag deployed within an instant of impact. Pruitt suffered three fractures of her lower mandible which required surgery. She sustained medical expenses of $66,224.00.

Plaintiff claimed that the air bag depoloyed in a low impact collision causing her injuries. The evidence was in conflict as to whether pruitt would have suffered injury but for the deployment of the air bag. Pruitt was 75 years old when the accident occurred. She had lost her teeth when she was 38 which caused estreme bone atrophy. Her doctors found that she had an extremely week jaw. It was thus very fragile and susceptible to injury.

Outcome: Defendant's verdcit.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: Affirmed by the Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Div. 6. The date shown above is the date of the appellate court decision and not the trial date.