HorseHauler

Found this on the internet... people get stupid





DETROIT, (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler AG has been hit with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by a paraplegic who says the automaker's heated car seats caused him a severe burn injury.

Matthew Beller, 20, who has paralysis in his lower limbs and complete loss of sensation below his mid-back due to a training accident sustained while in the U.S. Marine Corps, said his condition prevented him from sensing the burn while it was occurring and that the seats are "unreasonably dangerous."

The suit contends that injuries to his buttocks, "including third-degree burns requiring hospitalization, skin grafts and reconstructive surgery," occurred while he was driving a late-model Jeep built by DaimlerChrysler's U.S.-based Chrysler division last February. Beller's attorneys are demanding payment for damages in excess of $14 million, and they contend that other paraplegics have suffered burn injuries similar to Beller's in Chrysler vehicles.

Even before Beller bought his Grand Cherokee in August 2003, DaimlerChrysler "had knowledge that car seat heaters in its vehicles had caused severe burns to persons with sensory deprivation," the suit sabuys.

"The electrically heated driver's seat in the Jeep Grand Cherokee was defective and unreasonably dangerous to those using it, including Plaintiff Matthew Beller," says the suit, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Chrysler spokeswoman Mary Gauthier said the company had not yet seen the lawsuit and was unable to comment on it.

BigBlue

First off, if he can't feel anything in his lower half as it is, then why was he using them in the first place? Secondly, I don't know how hot the Chrsyler one's get, but my mom's chevy don't get anywhere near that hot. You set them on high and drive for 6 hours straight and not have a burn. Maybe a really hot and sweaty posterior, but not a burned one. Thirdly, how did he get burned through the fabric on the car seat and through his pants?

Hoss

IF the statements presented in the article are factual and the seats DO get hot enough to give someone 3rd degree burns and DC DID know about it but did not fix it....then I think they deserve to be sued.

duner

the attorney in this case needs to be prosecuted for something that carries the death penaly. the [*EDIT*] paraplegic needs to be commited to an insane asylum. man, this [*EDIT*] pisses me off.
[***Edited by Admin***]

Proram

Last time i checked, anything eletrical that gets hot enought to give you third degree burns woulda prob. set the seat on fire as well. IMHO

Scott

DPG

Something smells here, and I don't think that it has anything to do with third degree burns.

It got so cold here yesterday that someone saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets. (apologies to any fine practicioners of the legal profession on this site. A few bad apples.....etc.)

DeWain

BigBlue

welder27

I agree...if it's hot enough to give you 3rd degree burns (charred skin and tissue down through the muscles) then it's hot enough to set the seat on fire. It woulda been like sitting on top of a toaster! I think it's fake and he's just trying to cover up an accident he had where he had some fiery exploding diarrea or something. And yeah...if the seats did get that hot, why weren't they recalled?

apache

Firey exploding diherra . All due respect to the individual, as I dont know the truth but there are some who just want a payoff. Theres been a guy and his pal attourney here in this county lately who has managed to shut down permantly thru frivilious laws suits around 30 buisness. He claims the facilities are not in compliance with the ADA. The superior courts finally shut him down. To bad, the damage has already been done. I have nothing against anyone with a disability by any means, he actually closed a few for having the sinks 1/2 inch to high in the bathrooms. thats crazy.

Nevada

You said it. 99% of the lawyers out there give the rest of them a bad name.

These pocket picking lawyers would be pan handling if American Citizens didn't treat virtually harmless and/or self inflicted product malfunctions as if they were winning lottery tickets.

mr T

there's lawsuits like this everyday...u just stumbled upon this one...all of the major companies have dozens of lawsuits pending due to lazy people who want to get rich quick....i agree that frivolous lawsuits like this should be investigated and punished....its like a business for some people...they grow up with a lawyer buddy of theirs in highschool and later on they plan and target different companies or businesses and wait for them to slip up so they can maybe have a chance and get an out of court settlement

when they get some money though and people figure them out ( they got money to boot and the methods with which they got it) then they'll get sued themselves....i'll drive out there myself and slip on their property and REGAIN POSESSION of that money because i drive a dodge!!!! bring it back where it belongs

Kyle Graham

Yah it's sad I read something on millionaires and it said the number one way people are becoming millionaires is by lawsuits

pogorules

If YOU had a disability maybe you would understand the importance of business's complying with the ADA. Granted, suing for having the sinks 1/2" too high is stupidity but you wouldn't believe the obstacles that are STILL out there for the disabled.

HighDollarH.O.

If you guys stop and think about it, and read the case facts as posted on www.westlaw.com and THINK a little bit, you would know a few things:

1) Although he is parapalegic, he would still possibly want to use heat on his back. As you know, if you want to turn the heat on your seat - you have only one option and that is to heat the whole seat.

2) Leather seats can easily melt to the legs and *** very quickly and if you're paralyzed down there, you would not know it until it's too late.

3) He's alleging that the seat is DEFECTIVE, which obviously it was or it would have never gotten that hot. Any manufacturer who puts out a defective product must be held accountable for it - not my opinion, but it's the law.

4) He may have had prior knowledge of DM or any heated seats being defective, but that did not mean he had prior knowledge of his particular DM seat being defective.

5) The dollar amount is not excessive when you think in terms of the fact that plaintiffs must always aim high on dollar amount goals knowing that they will not get near that much in a final settlement. Plus, when you consider that his medical bills will easily be in excess of $100,000.00, obvious pain & suffering, not to mention disfigurment - what would you do in his situation? Better yet, what if it were your 5 year old daughter or son, and not an adult, who were paralyzed & got burnt by this seat? What would you do?

It's pretty sad that people think that anyone who files a law suit is only out for money or revenge. While that is true in some instances - and believe me, we've had to fire clients over such things - some folks really have ligit claims. THINK about it and put yourself in their situation. Also, don't go by what the news media says, those stories are reported by journalists who are generally not trained in the area of law, and the articles they write have to be "dumbed down" , as they call it in the media industry, so that anyone with a 6th grade reading ability can read and understand it. Thus, many times stories are over simplified and leave out a lot of facts. Take it from me, I have a journalism degree & law degree & I work as legal researcher.

Oh, and people don't generally get rich from law suits. They get the judgments they do because the injuries they were left with due to someone else's negligence will require medical attention for the rest of their lives - medical attention often not covered by health insurance because it's due to an accident or "pre-existing" injury - so the plaintiff is left having to pay it all out-of-pocket. Again, what would you do if your 5 year old child were in this guy's position and you knew that child would have to deal w/ it and pay for it for the rest of his or her life (which could easily be the next 90 years). Wouldn't it be nice to have a savings account specifically for those upcoming medical bills that you know you have to pay for yourself? Otherwise, you're doubly screwed - physically suffering from the result of someone else's negligence & carrying the financial burden because some one thought it was a "frivolous" law suit.

Begle1

I love you.

Were the seats leather? Somebody needs to do a science experiment to tell for sure, but leather seats probably wouldn't light fire before they get hot enough to cause burns. The foam inside, maybe, but it doesn't have oxygen, so probably not... Anyways, if the guy is to be believed, then the seat obviously didn't catch fire.

Also, provided the seat caught fire it really wouldn't help the case for DC any...


However, I still don't see where the responsibility is in having a heated seat if you can't feel heat... That just stupid. If he could feel it on his back, then I think he would also start feeling the ridiculous heat on his back; more likely he couldn't feel anything. Under which case DC could just say that he was a moron and their seats were simply working too good. Or did the seat only get hot where he couldn't feel?

It still lays in my mind that the guy is dumber than a sack of hammers...