The 2017 rollover accident left Francis Amagasu, 58, a quadriplegic.
A jury in Philadephia, PA, decided Oct. 30 that Mitsubishi Motors North America must pay a Pennsylvania man $977 million for damages after he was left permanently and severely injured when his seatbelt failed in a rollover accident.
Francis Amagasu, 58, and his wife were awarded $177 million in compensatory damages and $800 million in punitive damages, their lawyer told Reuters.
Mitsubishi plans to appeal the decision.
In Nov. 2017, Amagasu was driving a 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT in Buckingham Township, PA, when he swerved to avoid another vehicle, lost control of his and crashed, during which the car rolled over.
The lawsuit said the seatbelt Amagasu was wearing did not hold tight; instead, it allowed 4 inches of slack, and Amagasu hit his head on the car’s roof as it rolled. The impact left him quadriplegic.
The lawsuit said Mitsubishi’s seatbelt design was defective, and it did not perform rollover testing.
Abby Andrews