$980M Verdict: Product Liability Animations Support Defective Seat Belt Claim

The attorneys on the case needed to educate the jury on how the alleged defects in the car directly contributed plaintiff’s injuries. They came to MediVisuals + High Impact to create a series of animations that would support their claim that the seatbelt was defective and led to their client’s paralysis. The team wanted to demonstrate how the seatbelt rip stitching design was defective by adding four inches of slack to the system during a multi-event crash. The defense countered that the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries was due only to the severity of the crash, absent of the discontinued rip stitching seatbelt design.

The initial trial exhibit featured an animation illustrating the faulty seat belt, demonstrating how the torn stitching extended the seat belt's reach, leading to the man's head hitting the car's roof with a pile driving effect. The animation further provided a comparison between a functional and defective seatbelt to aid in proving causation. Had the plaintiff been wearing a proper seat belt, his injuries would have been less severe because his head would not have made contact with the car's roof. This helped the team demonstrate to the jury that the car company was responsible for the plaintiff’s paralyzing injuries.  

The second trial exhibit recreated the collision and highlighted the spinal injury that occurred as a result. By using a crash reconstruction animation, the team were able to place the jury at the scene of the incident and humanize their client’s experience.  

With the help of the animations, the jury returned a unanimous verdict on all counts and damages, thereby awarding $176 million in compensatory damages in addition to $800 million in punitive damages, to the client.  This is believed to be the largest crash-worthiness verdict in Pennsylvania history.