Ammons
MARSHALL - General Motors is being sued after a woman suffered a traumatic brain injury when the driver's seat of her Sunfire collapsed backward during an automobile collision.
Jody Hasken and her husband, Ron, filed suit against General Motors LLC on Nov. 1 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.
According to court documents, Hasken was involved in a collision on Nov. 14, 2009, in Angelina County. Hasken's 2002 Pontiac Sunfire SE was stopped to make a left turn into a RV park when it was struck from the rear by a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe.
During the collision, the seat recliner mechanism of the Sunfire's driver's seating system failed and allowed Hasken's seat to collapse backward, the lawsuit alleges.
Although Hasken was wearing her seatbelt during the collision, she sustained serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, the suit states.
General Motors is accused of strict product liability, negligence, gross negligence, fraudulent concealment of defect and misrepresentation regarding the improper design of the driver's seat recliner mechanism, failure to use alternative designs and driver seating systems to prevent its failure during collisions, failing to provide adequate warnings and inadequate testing of the driver's seat recliner mechanism.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for loss of consortium, loss of services, physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, medical expenses, interest and court costs.
A jury trial is requested.
The plaintiffs are represented by Robert E. Ammons and Bennett A. Midlo of The Ammons Law Firm in Houston.
U.S. District Judge David Folsom is assigned to the case.
Case No. 2:11-cv-00466