Jim Mitchell Obtains a Jury Verdict of $36 Million in Sarah Milburn v. American Honda Motor Company Inc.
Congratulations to Payne Mitchell Ramsey partner, Jim Mitchell, for obtaining a jury verdict of $36 million against Honda in the Sarah Milburn v. American Honda Motor Company Inc.
The hero of the case was Sarah Milburn, a brave young lady who stood up to goliath Honda regarding a defective seatbelt system. Prior to the wreck, Ms. Milburn buckled her seatbelt. However, due to the Honda design of the restraint, the lap belt and the shoulder belt are not integrated. This dangerous design allows passengers to buckle only the shoulder restraint. During the wreck, Ms. Milburn only had the shoulder restraint buckled. When the Uber van she was riding in rolled over, her lower body was not held to the seat by the lap belt. This allowed the shoulder belt to “hang” Sarah resulting in a cervical fracture and quadriplegia.
Honda has put 1.6 million of these defective restraint systems in the market. Many of these systems are in third-row seats where our children often ride. A seatbelt that allows passengers to mistakenly only use the shoulder restraint is defective and incredibly dangerous. This verdict sent a message to Honda that the restraints design needs to go. Sarah Milburn’s trial team plans to lobby to pass “Sarah’s Law” to ban these dangerous and defective restraint systems.