A Palm Beach County jury awarded the parents of Scott Laliberte $11 Million in their case against Mitsubishi Motor Corporation.
The jurors sided with the plaintiff after listening to three weeks of testimony about defects in the design of the front passenger-side seatbelt and seat back of a 2000 Mitsubishi Nativa, also known as a Montero Sport. The seatbelt was designed to introduce ten inches of slack during an accident of significance, including a rollover.
Even though he was wearing a seatbelt, front seat passenger Scott Laliberte, a student in chiropractic college, was killed in September 2004 when he was partially ejected through the back seat window and his head was crushed against the vehicle and the ground. It was undisputed that our client was properly seat belted in the front passenger seat and had the seat back in the proper operating position during the accident. The driver, who did not have a ten inch loop in her belt, walked away from the accident with only a scratch on her hand.
Florida product liability attorneys Joseph J. Reiter, Donald R. Fountain and W. Hampton Keen handled the case on behalf of the Laliberte family.
Because the case came at the same time Mitsubishi executives were being investigated for a cover-up of auto defects, news outlets from Japan and other areas of the World closely followed the Laliberte’s trial. A former Mitsubishi president and other company officials were convicted in January 2008 of professional negligence.