Larry Bendesky and Robert Zimmerman – Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky
Confidential Settlement: Animating Forklift Seatbelt Deficiencies After Spine Injury
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Animation
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Product Liability
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Legal
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Case Study
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Larry Bendesky, Esq., and Robert Zimmerman, Esq., obtained a successful settlement for the quadriplegic victim of a forklift collision after demonstrating how their client’s injuries could have been easily prevented had the forklift’s seat been properly outfitted with a 3-point seatbelt.
Challenge
The Plaintiff was driving a forklift with a two-point seatbelt around his waist. He hit a pole which caused him to be thrown forward into the windshield of the forklift resulting in a cervical spine injury that left him suffering quadriplegia. If the forklift had been outfitted with a 3-point seatbelt that strapped across his chest, it would have stopped his momentum before his head hit the windshield.
The Defense claimed that the 2-point seatbelt was a sufficient safety measure and the Plaintiff was responsible for his own injuries because he hit the pole. They also claimed that the 3-point seatbelt hindered the ability to drive in reverse.
Animated mechanism of injury after fork lift collision.
Approach
Mr. Bendesky and Mr. Zimmerman needed to show how the 2-point seatbelt’s deficiencies failed to prevent their client’s mechanism of injury, and how the properly outfitted 3-point seatbelt would have prevented this catastrophic injury from occurring. We built them an animation series that would achieve the following visual objectives:
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Demonstrate the Plaintiff’s mechanism of injury with the improper 2-point seatbelt.
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Show how the 3-point seatbelt would have clearly prevented this mechanism of injury.
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Compare the Defendant’s insufficient seat to two other seat models that were designed to prevent this type of injury.
“Jurors expect audio and visual presentations at trial, based on what they have seen on television and in film. It is our responsibility to engage the jury visually and to not only tell them why our client should recover - but to show them.”
Result
The animations helped Mr. Bendesky and Mr. Zimmerman show jurors a dangerously clear distinction between the unsafe 2-point seatbelt and the proper 3-point seatbelt that would have prevented this injury. The case settled four days into trial with the help of the animation.
Animating how safety measuring would have prevented mechanism of injury.
“We want to provide jurors visuals in order to connect them with our case. Having a 3D model to move around and display in different views and angles - as well as having the ability to break down a large machine and make simple changes to present the alternative design - gave jurors the appreciation for how my client's life-altering injuries could have easily been prevented.”
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