Tarrant County Jury Awards $47.5 in Death of Carrollton Man
6 May 1999
Tarrant County Jury Awards $47.5 in Death of Carrollton Man Family Offers to Forego $31 Million Punitive Damages if GM Will Recall and
Repair Trucks
{tc "County Jury Awards $46 Million In Death of Fort Worth Man"\l 3}
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 5 -- A Tarrant County jury today
handed down a startling verdict against General Motors Corporation, ordering
the giant auto maker to pay a total of $47.5 million to the family of the late
Jerry W. Harper, of Fort Worth. The verdict, which includes $16.5 million in
actual damages and $31 million in punitive damages, stems from an August 7,
1993, collision that left Harper a quadriplegic and ultimately caused his
death on January 17, 1997.
"This verdict represents a major victory not only for the Harper family,
but for every American driver," said David L. Perry, of the Corpus Christi law
firm of Edwards, Perry and Haas, L.L.P., which represented Jerry Harper's
survivors in the lawsuit. "The judgment of this Tarrant County jury evidences
the public's increasing intolerance of the apathy and irresponsibility that
some auto manufacturers have demonstrated toward the safety and reliability of
their vehicles. This verdict loudly and clearly voices the public's demand
for implementation of stricter laws and regulations regarding the safety
design and testing of all vehicles for all drivers."
"This law firm joins the Harper family in offering to forego the
$31 million dollars in punitive damages if General Motors will agree to recall
all GM trucks on the road today that are not equipped with head restraints and
to install the safety devices at no charge to the vehicles' owners," said
Judge Rene' Haas, of the law firm of Edwards, Perry & Haas, L.L.P.
"We filed this lawsuit to honor my dad's memory," said Mel Harper, on
receiving the jury's verdict. "We feel the best way to honor his memory is to
help protect others from enduring tragedies such as these. We gladly will
give up the $31 million punitive damages if GM will comply with our request."
At about 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 7, 1993, Jerry W. Harper was
returning from work, driving his 1990 GM Chevrolet pick-up truck on Valley
View Lane in Dallas County, when a vehicle driven by Linda V. Armstrong
collided head-on with his truck. At the time of the collision, Harper was
wearing his seatbelt; however, his GM truck was not equipped with head
restraints. With the force of the crash, Harper's body was thrown forward
into the truck's seatbelt assembly and then rebounded back against the seat.
Because his GM truck was not equipped with head restraints, the motion of this
"restraint rebound" caused Harper's neck to break. The tragic results of the
accident were aggravated because Harper suffered from a disease called
ankylosis spondylitis, a condition that caused abnormal brittleness and
stiffness in his neck. Left a quadriplegic after the collision, Harper lived
3-1/2 more pain-filled years before dying on January 17, 1997, as a result of
injuries sustained in the '93 collision.
Following the collision, the Harper family retained the Corpus Christi law
firm of Edwards, Perry and Haas, L.L.P., to file a lawsuit against General
Motors Corporation.
Since 1969, federal law has required that passenger vehicles must be
equipped with head restraints, but they were not required in trucks until
1992. Although the collision that caused Harper's death occurred in 1990,
prior to this legal mandate, evidence presented in the trial showed that
General Motors was keenly aware of the potential for serious injury to
passengers in pick-up trucks that were not equipped with head restraints.
"A General Motors expert admitted in his trial testimony that, if pick-up
trucks were not equipped with head restraints, it was a statistical certainty
that someone eventually would be killed due to 'restraint rebound,'" said
Perry. "I believe that that statement alone clearly convinced the jury that
GM was negligent and liable."
Evidence presented in the trial also demonstrated that GM was aware of the
public's strong support for installing head restraints in all types of
vehicles as a safety measure. In spite of its clear knowledge of the dangers
involved and the public's demand for head restraints, prior to the 1992
federal requirement, General Motors elected to include them in GM trucks only
as part of a "premium sport package" option that was sold at an extra cost.
In 1985, General Motors began installing head restraints in light trucks
sold in Saudi Arabia due to the Saudi government's requirements.
"Clearly, GM chose corporate profits over the safety of its drivers," said
Mel Harper, commenting on the verdict. "As a result, my dad endured
unbelievable pain for more than three years, and now we have lost him
altogether. No amount of money can make up for that loss, but we hope that
the jury's verdict will send a strong message to GM and other auto makers that
will end up saving the lives of others."
Harper v. General Motors successfully contended that the GM truck driven
by Jerry Harper was defective. Attorneys for the plaintiff, David Perry and
Rene' Haas, showed that the truck's design defects made it unreasonably
dangerous.
"We commend Mel, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Harper, Jerry's parents, for
having the fortitude and determination to go through with this case," said
David Perry. "It has been very difficult for them to re-live the events of
3-1/2 years ago, but they told me that their wounds could not begin to heal
until GM was forced to pay for its negligence. It's their greatest hope that
this verdict will cause GM and other auto makers to be more safety-conscious,
so others won't have to endure the pain that comes from such a loss."
