A bankrupt Chrysler's plea to overturn a $13 million judgment against it for the death of an 8-month-old boy in Nashville was rejected this morning in the U.S. Supreme Court, the AP reports.
A 1998 Dodge Caravan was rear-ended in 2001, "causing the front passenger seat to collapse and the passenger to strike (Joshua Flax)..." The collision fractured the boy's skull, killing him. His parents were initially granted $98 million in punitive damages in 2004, but this was later reduced.
A jury found in 2004 that the passenger seats had been failing crash tests for 20 years and injuring children since the 80s. A former employee testified to investigating the defective seats (and to subsequently being fired for suggesting the defects be brought to the attention of federal regulators).
Without comment, the justices let the ruling of the lower court stand.
