Products Liability Law Reporter

James Morris, who suffered from paraplegia, bought a motorized wheelchair from National Seating & Mobility, which fitted Morris for the wheelchair, ordered it from the manufacturers, and provided maintenance and repair services. When Morris returned to National Seating & Mobility to receive a replacement wheelchair, a branch manager noted that his weight had increased from 255 to 305 pounds, five pounds over the weight limit for his motorized wheelchair. Later, Morris’s wife reported to the company that the chair’s armrest was leaning down too much. Various repairs and adjustments were made to Morris’s chair over the next few years, during which time Morris’s weight continued to increase.

Later, while Morris was transferring from his wheelchair into his vehicle, the right armrest on the wheelchair broke, causing him to fall to the ground and break his left leg.

Morris filed suit against National Seating & Mobility, alleging negligence and gross negligence. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant failed to properly assemble, inspect, and maintain his wheelchair and failed to warn him that he exceeded the chair’s maximum weight capacity, which caused the armrest to break while he was transferring out of his wheelchair.

The defense moved for summary judgment, and the trial judge referred all pre-trial proceedings to a magistrate judge for disposition. That judge issued a report and recommendation that the defendant be granted summary judgment.

The parties settled for an undisclosed amount.

Citation: Morris v. National Seating & Mobility, Inc., 2019 WL 2343020 (W.D. Tex. June 3, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: Abel A. Dominguez, San Antonio, Texas.