Support Structure/Crashworthiness

From the founding of our firm in 1988, we have been on the cutting edge of automobile product liability litigation. Every car accident is different and has the potential of being caused not only by driver negligence, but may have also been compounded by a defect in one or both of the vehicles.

Vehicle frames and structures must be "crashworthy." In other words, vehicles must be designed to crush in a controlled manner, so as to manage the forces or energy of a collision and protect occupants in the vehicle. Unfortunately, not all vehicles on the road fulfill this basic design requirement.

If your accident involved serious injury because the vehicle structure collapsed or "intruded" into the occupant space and caused injury, there is a real possibility the vehicle support structure was defective. Our firm has significant experience and success handling these types of cases. If you or your family members have suffered injuries as the result of a vehicle's uncrashworthy design, you need an experienced automobile defect lawyer to maximize your recovery. Contact us today.

$17,716,401 Verdict / Auto Product Liability / Ford Explorer Rear Restraint System / Lap Only Seat Belt

12/18/2009 Wheeler v. Ford Motor Company, et al., State Court, Clayton County, Georgia.

Plaintiffs Lynn and Douglas Wheeler won their design defect and failure to warn claims against Ford Motor Company relating to the 2002 Ford Explorer. On Christmas morning 2005, 58 year old Lynn Wheeler was on her way to church with her family. Lynn Wheeler was seated in the rear center seat of her son’s 2002 Ford Explorer, wearing the lap-only seat belt Ford installed for that seating position. Two of Lynn Wheeler’s grandchildren were in child seats on either side of her. As they entered a curve on Noah’s Ark Road, a 2-door Eagle Talon coupe driven by John C. Stanley crossed the centerline and struck the Explorer head-on.

$5,470,000 Verdict/Wrongful Death

10/23/09 Pitts v. A&G Trucking. Inc., et al., State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia.

Plaintiffs, four minor children, recovered for the death of their father, who was killed by a dump truck driver while the decedent was working as a "spotter" or "flag man" on the runway expansion at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. According to eye-witnesses, the driver of the dump truck was talking on her cell phone or CB radio and was given a stop signal by the deceased.

$45,000,000 Settlement | Credit Insurance/Consumer Rights Class Action

10/31/07 Toole v. J.M.I.C. Life Insurance Company, Superior Court of Muscogee County, Georgia

Plaintiff Toole represented a class of people who prepaid J.M.I.C. Life Insurance Company premiums for credit life and disability insurance policies when they purchased vehicles. J.M.I.C. Life Insurance Company contractually promised to refund any unearned premium if class members paid off the insured loans before the five-year term had expired, but failed to do so when they paid off the insured loans early.

$105,500,000 Verdict | Defective Automobile

11/23/04 Flax v. Daimler Chrysler Corporation and Louis A. Stockell, Jr., Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee

More Verdicts

Any person who foreseeably could have been injured by a defective product can recover for his or her injuries, as long as the product was sold to someone...

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Columbus
105 13th Street
P.O. Box 2766
Columbus, GA 31902
FAX 706.323.2962
706.322.1990
1.800.233.4086

Atlanta
2719 Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA 30324
FAX 404.321.1713
404.321.1700
1.800.242.2962

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With offices in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, the attorneys at Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP represent the seriously injured throughout Georgia, including the cities of Atlanta, Columbus, Marietta, Smyrna, Roswell, Gainesville, Peachtree City, Forest Park, Riverdale, Lagrange, Macon, and Savannah. Our lawyers have handled accident and defective product claims nationwide, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.