Virginia Supreme Court reverses $20 million verdict for woman in Bedford County crash

[TexasTowelie]

The Virginia Supreme Court has reversed a $20 million verdict for a woman partially paralyzed after her Mazda Miata overturned in Bedford County in 2006.

That award, which came at the end of a jury trial in 2014, was believed to have been the largest of its kind ever to come out of Roanoke Circuit Court.

But in an opinion released Thursday, justices took issue with both a key claim brought against the manufacturer, Mazda Motor Corp., and with an opinion offered at trial by an expert witness for the plaintiff.

The driver, Shannon Walters, sued Mazda, and during a jury trial in October 2014, she testified that while driving on Virginia 619 at night, a plastic swimming pool blew off the back of a truck in front of her.

Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/virginia-supreme-court-reverses-million-verdict-for-woman-in-bedford/article_536b760e-8ce7-5476-8fde-23f8956fb7f6.html

[Nitram]

1. I must say, I find the court's opinion reasonable.

Why would anyone expect a soft top convertible to remain intact during a roll over? Unless there was a roll bar, which would destroy the sexy aesthetic of a convertible.

“There was simply no basis for his assumption that the front end of the roof structure would not have collapsed during the rollover crash if the latches had remained connected,” McClanahan wrote, a point she said proved “fatal” to Walters’ claims for negligence.

[TexasTowelie]

2. There are inherent risks to owning and riding in a convertible.

As horrible as her injuries are, this is a situation where the owner should be aware of those risks.

The question that comes to mind is whether her attorneys rejected settlement offers that were more appropriate for this type of claim. While she is paralyzed and probably has a mountain of debt, a settlement offer in the $2M -$3M range is closer to being in line for this type of claim and the jury did her a disservice by inflating the award. I do feel sorry for the woman, but wonder if she received good legal advice.

[Nitram]

3. Good point.