Houston Family Settles Lawsuit Over Deadly, Faulty Seat Belts - April 8, 2004

Houston – A Houston-area family has settled its lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler in the deaths of two women ejected from a minivan in a crash that occurred in 2002 as the family returned home from vacation.

Martin Mendoza filed the suit against the automaker March 13, 2003 , claiming faulty seat belts were to blame for the deaths of his wife and sister-in-law. The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum.

Seven members of the extended Mendoza family were returning Sunday, Dec. 29, 2002, to their homes in Houston from a Christmas visit to Mexico when their 1996 Chrysler Town & Country minivan struck a culvert, flipped end-to-nose and then rolled. The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 59, just west of Beeville, Texas.

In the vehicle were Martin Mendoza, 37, the driver, his wife, Denise, 34, and their children Daniel, 15, and Amy, 8; also Martin's brother, Jose, 40, his wife, Maria, 38, and their son, Hector, 16.

All had their seat belts buckled. However, all the belts except that of Jose, in the front passenger seat, unlatched. Martin was hurled into the windshield and fell between the two front seats. Denise and Maria, who were in the middle captain's chairs, and all three children, who were riding in the rear seat, were ejected from the vehicle.

Denise died instantly. Maria was fatally injured, and died on January 8, 2003. All three children were seriously injured. Amy received numerous fractures. Hector remains paralyzed.

The families filed a lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler in the 157th Judicial District, Harris County (Houston) Texas. The lawsuit accused DaimlerChrysler of negligence in the manufacture of the defective Gen3 seatbelt.

Tennessee Woman Files Seat Belt Suit After Accident Leaves Her Paralyzed

NASHVILLE – A Tennessee woman has filed a lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler alleging the seat belt in her 1996 Dodge Intrepid came unlatched during an accident in 2001, causing her to be ejected from the vehicle and sustain injuries that left her paralyzed.

Christi Doerflinger, now 36, of Leoma, TN, was driving with her 10-year-old son Nathaniel Sandlin back from a trip to a sporting goods store when her 1996 Dodge Intrepid hit a patch of water and skidded out of control down an embankment and into a tree. She was ejected from the vehicle and broke her neck.

Plaintiffs claim Doerflinger's seat belt came unlatched during the crash, allowing her to be ejected. The child, who remained buckled, was not injured.

A seat belt buckle found on most DaimlerChrysler autos made from 1993 to 2002, known as the Gen 3, is the focus of dozens of lawsuits across the country for design flaws that make it prone to both accidental release and false latching. To date, at least 26 deaths and 42 injuries have been traced to the failure of Gen 3 seat belts.

The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville.

Dangerous Seatbelts? - July 12, 2003

Your seatbelt is supposed to save your life, but what if your seatbelt came undone when you needed it most? That's what some claim has happened to their loved ones, and fear it could happen millions of other vehicles. It's a News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Special Investigation.

Read the full story here.

Potential Seatbelt Safety Problem Exposed - April 22, 2003

A KIRO 7 Consumer Investigation exposes a potential safety problem with popular seatbelts you might have in your vehicle. Consumer Investigator Wayne Havrelly discovered some local car owners who say the seatbelts are unlatching during sudden stops and accidents.

Read the full story here.

Houstonians sue DaimlerChrysler over seat belts - March 13, 2003

Two Houston families sued DaimlerChrysler Corp. today on claims that two women died and three children were hurt because faulty seat belts came unlatched and they were ejected from their minivan in a December accident near Beeville.

The lawsuit, filed in Harris County district court, is among a growing throng of similar claims on behalf of owners of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles that have a so-called Gen 3 buckle on seat belts. Plaintiffs claim the buckle is prone to unlatching during crashes or from around child safety seats during sharp turns or sudden stops.

DaimlerChrysler, based in Stuttgart, Germany, and Auburn Hills, Mich., issued a statement today saying the company hadn't yet been served with the lawsuit and that DaimlerChrysler intends to fully investigate its allegations.

Tom Smith, executive director of Public Citizen in Texas, a consumer advocacy group, said the buckle "is patently unsafe and should be recalled immediately."

In the crash, Denise Mendoza, 34, and her sister-in-law Maria Mendoza, 38, were returning from a holiday trip to Mexico when their 1996 Chrysler Town & Country minivan hit a culvert and flipped in the fog. The lawsuit says they and their three children -- Hector, 16, Daniel, 15, and Amy, 8 -- were wearing seat belts, but all five were ejected from the minivan when the buckles on the seat belts unlatched.

Denise Mendoza died instantly, and Maria Mendoza died 11 days later. Denise Mendoza's two children were hurt and Hector, Marina Mendoza's son, remains paralyzed, the lawsuit said. "We all made a habit of buckling up and making sure our children were buckled up," said Martin Mendoza, Denise Mendoza's husband.

The lawsuit says the Gen 3 buckle has a button that protrudes from its cover enough so that a falling object or flailing arms can easily unlatch it. Other buckles have buttons more in line with the rest of the buckle that must be pushed below the cover to unlatch.

Clarence Ditlow, head of the Washington D.C.-based Center for Auto Safety, said the problem isn't obvious after a crash and it can appear the occupant wasn't wearing a seat belt. Last year the group started calling on DaimlerChrysler to recall all Gen 3 buckles and replace them with a safer model.

"In terms of seat belt defects, this is one of the worst I've ever seen," he said.

DaimlerChrysler said seat belts in the 1996 Chrysler Town & Country "have an excellent safety record spanning the past decade and have been used in millions of vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not identified any issues with this seat belt design, which has been thoroughly tested and meets all appropriate safety standards."

Last summer, a Nueces County judge granted nationwide class-action status to a lawsuit filed in 2000 seeking to force the company to recall all Gen 3 buckles. That case focused on the 1996 death of a Sinton, Texas, man when his 1997 Dodge minivan rolled over in an accident in Corpus Christi. His family won a $6.7 million judgment from DaimlerChrysler and the seat belt manufacturer, but the company is appealing the case.

That jury found the Gen 3 buckle was "defective as designed" and attorneys are seeking replacement of the buckles on about 14 million Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles.

DaimlerChrysler said evidence has surfaced in similar lawsuits that the seat belt wasn't being worn, and the company will pay particular attention to identifying any physical evidence of seat belt use.

Courts in Nevada and Arizona have dismissed Gen 3 class-action lawsuits, and a California court has denied one class certification, the company added.

New call for Chrysler to recall seat belts - March 13, 2003

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading consumer group stepped up pressure Thursday for a voluntary recall of seat belts on up to 16 million Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles amid fresh assertions they can accidentally unlatch during crashes.

The demand from consumer watchdog Public Citizen, which was a driving force behind the recall of millions of defective Firestone tires in 2000 and 2001, came as another lawsuit was filed in Texas over claims the third generation or "Gen3" model belt buckle in Chrysler vehicles is defective.

Consumer groups and lawyers claim that belt failures are linked to 14 deaths and 19 serious injuries. They say the latch button can be accidentally activated because it sits a half-inch higher than the rest of the buckle assembly.

The latest legal case against Chrysler's parent, DaimlerChrysler AG (nyse: DCX - news - people), alleges that seat belts popped open during a rollover crash in Texas last December that killed two women and injured three children riding in a minivan.

"Tragically, this tends to happen when vehicles are involved in sudden stops, turns, collisions or rollovers -- exactly when drivers need their seat belts the most," said Public Citizen's Tom Smith.

"GEN3" SEAT BELTS

Public Citizen joined another prominent consumer group, the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety, in calling for a recall of "Gen3" belts installed across Chrysler's product line since 1994. Vehicles include the Dakota pickup, the Durango sport utility vehicle and minivans.

The Center for Auto Safety urged Chrysler to recall the "Gen3" and replace them with its next generation buckle.

More than 140 consumer complaints about unlatchings have been gathered by consumer groups and lawyers in cases against the "Gen3" belt.

But Chrysler could not immediately confirm that it had received any consumer complaints and said it does not plan to issue a recall.

"It's been proven to be a very safe seat belt. In the few (legal) claims we have seen, all the evidence has shown that people were not wearing the seat belts at the time of the accidents," Chrysler spokeswoman Ann Smith said.

There have been less than a dozen lawsuits against Chrysler since 1998 alleging seat belt failure. It is appealing one Texas jury verdict in 2000 and has settled two other cases, according to a lawyer involved in several of those suits. Chrysler said two other class action suits had been dismissed.

The government agency responsible for auto safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is not investigating Gen3 belts and said no formal petitions for action had been filed.

The government investigated the "Gen3's" predecessor in the late 1990s before a recall was initiated against that product.

Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service

Consumer groups renew push for seat belt recall - March 13, 2003

Reuters News Service

WASHINGTON -- A leading consumer group stepped up pressure Thursday for a voluntary recall of seat belts on up to 16 million Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles amid fresh assertions they can unlatch during crashes.

The demand from Public Citizen came as another lawsuit was filed in Texas over claims that the third generation, or Gen3, model buckle in Chrysler vehicles is defective.

Consumer groups and lawyers claim that belt failures are linked to 14 deaths and 19 serious injuries.

Public Citizen joined the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety in calling for a recall of Gen3 belts installed across Chrysler's product line since 1994.

Vehicles include the Dakota pickup, the Durango sport utility and minivans.

The Center for Auto Safety urged Chrysler to recall the belts and replace them with its next generation.

But Chrysler could not immediately confirm that it had received any consumer complaints and said it does not plan to issue a recall.

Houston family sues Chrysler over faulty seatbelts - March 13, 2003

HOUSTON -- A Houston-area family sued a carmaker Thursday, claiming that fastened seatbelts were faulty and led to the deaths of loved ones.

Martin Mendoza filed suit against DaimlerChrysler. He said that a seatbelt caused the death of his wife and sister-in-law during an accident last December.

"Even though we were wearing seatbelts, I wonder, 'Why did my wife eject from the van along with my kids?''' Mendoza said.

Mendoza was riding in a 1996 Chrysler van with six family members when it hit a culvert, flipped and rolled over. Their attorney said that six of the van's seven seatbelts unlatched, catapulting the family from their seats, killing two adults and paralyzing one child.

"It is a safety, an automobile safety defect of major proportions," attorney Billy Edwards said.

Edwards said that the Gen-3 seatbelt used by DaimlerChrysler in 16 million old and new vehicles fails industry safety tests and has caused 14 deaths.

The Mendozas are also suing Honeywell International, which helps make the seatbelts, as well as Mirage Motors in Houston, which sold them the van.

"I want to tell Chrysler to please fix the seatbelts," Mendoza said.

DaimlerChrysler issued the following statement to News2Houston.

"The company fully intends to investigate the allegations made in the lawsuit. Frequently in lawsuits like this, the company has found substantial evidence that the seatbelt was not being worn."

Edwards said that it would cost DaimlerChrysler 24 cents a buckle to make the seat belts safer, but the company admits no wrongdoing.

"I suppose to some folks, millions of dollars are not worth spending to save lives," Edwards said.

Edwards said that DaimlerChrysler has settled two similar lawsuits.

A Texas woman whose husband was killed when his seat belt unlatched won a $5 million lawsuit against the carmaker in 2000.

DaimlerChrysler is appealing the judgment.