After eight and one-half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict assessing fault 30% to Martin Stewart, 60% to Mazda and 10% to the decedent, Lena Dickerson. The verdict was for $3,025,000.00, but was reduced for decedent's fault to $2,835,277.99. Mandatory prejudgment interest of $773,681.35 was added for a total Judgment of $3,608,959.34.

Robert M.N. Palmer and William G. Petrus, The Law Offices of Robert Palmer, P.C. and Brent Carpenter, Carpenter & Carpenter, for Plaintiffs. W. Russell Welsh, Polsinelli, White, Vardeman & Shalton, P.C., and John Teague, Strasburger & Price, L.L.P., for Defendants Mazda Motor Corporation and Mazda Motor of America, Inc. and Mr. Michael T. Sprague, Leuders & Boanerges, for Defendant Stewart.

The plaintiffs in this case were the husband, three children, and mother and father of Lena Dickerson who was involved in an accident at approximately 9:00 p.m. on March 27, 1994, in Fort Bend County, Texas. Mr. Martin Stewart, who was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck and had a blood alcohol level of .2, pulled out from a side street in front of Ms. Dickerson who was driving her 1991 Mazda Protege. It was generally conceded in the trial that the deceleration velocity of the Dickerson's vehicle was somewhere between 24 to 30 mph, with Mr. Stewart striking the right front of Ms. Dickerson's vehicle. Ms. Dickerson's three children, ages nine, five and three at the time of the accident, were all seated in the front seat area and were unrestrained. Ms. Dickerson only had on the shoulder belt of the motorized shoulder/manual lap belt restraint system. The opposing driver, Mr. Stewart, had on his available three-point restraint system. Mr. Stewart was uninjured in the accident. The three-year old suffered only minor injuries. The five-year old suffered a broken leg, and the nine-year old had a very mild head injury and broken arm from which he fully recovered. Ms. Dickerson on the other hand sustained massive thoracic injuries, including maceration of her liver and an aortic tear and flailed chest all of which resulted in her death shortly after the accident.

At the trial of this matter, Mazda conceded that the fatal forces supplied to Ms. Dickerson's chest came from the shoulder belt. Plaintiffs' experts argued that had she been wearing the manual lap belt she would have survived the accident. In fact, it was also argued that had she been unrestrained she would have survived. Plaintiffs introduced evidence that a diagonal shoulder belt by itself was unreasonably dangerous and that the automobile industry was aware of this from the early 1960s.

Plaintiffs alleged that the restraint system in the 1991 Mazda Protege was defective and unreasonably dangerous in that it failed to have an integrated lap belt. This particular restraint system contains a motorized shoulder belt with a separately operated manual lap belt. Plaintiffs further claimed that the 1991 Mazda was defective in that it did not provide an adequate warning to Ms. Dickerson of the need to wear the manual lap belt. Their theory against the opposing driver was failure to yield the right of way.

Lena Dickerson was 28 years of age at the time of her death. Her annual earnings were approximately $23,000.00, with reasonable expected increases each year until retirement.

A confidential settlement was reached with both Mazda and the opposing driver shortly after the trial.