MONTEREY - A jury on Friday awarded $12 million to a Pacific Grove woman who sued Toyota Motor Corp. after she was paralyzed during a 2010 crash despite wearing a lap belt.
Chelsie Hill was awarded $8 million for past and future medical expenses, and $4 million for her pain and suffering.
Toyota is responsible for 95 percent and 90 percent of those costs, respectively, the jury ruled.
"Chelsie was crying and thanked the jurors when they reached a decision," Bob Rosenthal, Hill's attorney, said.
Since sustaining her injuries, Hill has paid more than $600,000 in medical bills.
Hill argued that
Toyota knew the lap belt was dangerous and installed it anyway, instead of a safer three-point lap belt. The automaker argued it was Hill's indifference and lack of attention to her own safety that cost her the ability to walk.
Her doctor testified Hill was "jackknifed" by the belt, splitting her spine. Jurors held Aaron Corn, the convicted drunken driver who crashed the
1996 Toyota 4Runner, 5 percent responsible for Hill's injuries and left Hill with 5 percent of the responsibility for her injuries.
"All of the other passengers (in the crash) are walking proof of the safety of a three-point belt," Rosenthal said in closing statements Thursday.
Because of the injuries she sustained, Hill is expected to live until the age of 65. A former dancer, she has already been diagnosed with osteoporosis at the age of 22.
Friends of Hill's family were pleased with the outcome.
"It's unbelievable. I was there most of the trial and it was just too close to call," Jonathan Pellegrin, a family friend of Hill, said.
Rosenthal said the award was "appropriate and just."
"Toyota misled the public about the safety of their lap belts and now there are millions of people out there driving those cars," he said.
As of 2014, there are
more than 3 million Toyota vehicles with at least one lap belt -- similar to the one Hill wore -- driving in the U.S., according to Ben Kelley, a Center for Auto Safety board member who testified at trial.
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26753787/jury-awards-paralyzed-monterey-county-woman-12-million
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