Trial Magazine

In August 2013, Matthew and Marcia Seebachan purchased a used 2010 Honda Fit from a car dealer, relying on a CARFAX vehicle report indicating that the car had a clean history, with no structural repairs or hail damage. Unbeknownst to the Seebachans, the Fit’s prior owner had taken it to John Eagle Collision Center in 2012 to repair hail damage to its roof. Rather than welding a new steel roof to the vehicle using 108 welds, as specified by Honda, the collision center used a ­glue-like adhesive to attach the roof.

In December 2013, the Seebachans were traveling on a highway when a Toyota pickup truck hydroplaned and struck the Honda head on. On impact, the Honda’s roof separated from the body of the vehicle. The roof separation set off a chain of structural failures: The safety cage collapsed; the driver’s side roof rail deformed; and the rocker panel ­underneath the vehicle collapsed, puncturing the gas tank beneath the driver’s seat. A fuel-fed fire erupted, engulfing Matthew’s lower legs, which were trapped by an intruding floor pan. Good Samaritans pulled the couple from the vehicle, but both Seebachans sustained severe injuries.

Matthew, 33, suffered third- and fourth-degree burns to his lower legs and feet; fractures to both heels, his left arm, and multiple ribs; bilateral carotid artery dissections; and multiple lacerations to his forehead. Matthew also suffered acute respiratory failure. He underwent two years of extensive treatment for his burns, including debridement, skin grafting, and 13 surgeries. His burn treatment was delayed due to the open reduction internal fixation of the fractures. He remains unable to place any pressure on his feet. He uses a walker and lives with constant, excruciating nerve pain in his feet so severe that he must wear a fentanyl patch on a 24-hour basis. At the time of the incident, Matthew was attending nursing school, but he was forced to abandon those career plans.

Marcia, 29, sustained an atlanto-occipital dissociation, an often-fatal injury in which the ligaments and bony structures of the spinal column separate from the base of the skull. She also suffered bilateral carotid artery dissections; transection of the thoracic aorta; bilateral pulmonary contusions and bilateral hemothoraces, or blood in the pleural cavity; bilateral renal contusions; and multiple fractures to the sternum, right arm, pelvis, left leg, and left foot. She underwent open reduction internal fixation of the fractures. The couple’s combined medical expenses exceeded $1 million.

The Seebachans sued John Eagle Collision Center, alleging that the company was negligent and grossly negligent for using a defective and untested repair method to attach the new roof. The plaintiffs asserted that the dealership made a business decision to use the unauthorized repair, for which the insurer paid $8,500. In deposition testimony, the defendant’s body shop director reportedly acknowledged that the company failed to follow Honda’s repair specifications, which called for welding the roof. At trial, the defendant’s corporate representative admitted that insurance companies always dictated which repair methods would be permitted and paid for. He also allegedly admitted that his company had failed to follow the 2009–2013 Honda Fit Body Repair Manual.

The plaintiffs’ experts testified about how the roof would not have separated if it had been welded, as specified, and how separation of the roof caused the series of of structural failures that led to the plaintiffs’ catastrophic injuries. The experts testified that if the Fit’s roof had been welded, the Seebachans likely would have sustained only minor injuries. Other evidence showed that there was no way the Seebachans or the dealership that sold them the car could have detected that the roof had been glued on.

The defendant argued that the roof was not a structural component but just a panel and that the adhesive used was just as strong as welding.

The plaintiffs countered with expert testimony that welds were far stronger.

The jury allocated fault at 75 percent to the collision center and 25 percent to the other driver, with whom the plaintiffs had settled previously. The jury then awarded approximately $41.94 million. The parties settled shortly after the verdict under a high/low agreement.

Citation: Seebachan v. John Eagle Collision Ctr., No. DC-15-09782 (Tex. Dist. Ct. Dallas Cnty. Oct. 2, 2017).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member E. Todd Tracy, Andrew G. Counts, and Leighton Durham, all of Dallas; and Bill H. Liebbe, Tyler, Texas.

Plaintiff experts: Neil Hannemann, automotive engineering, Vancouver, Wash.; Mariusz Ziejewski, biomechanical engineering, Fargo, S.D.; Richard Tonda, accident reconstruction, Houston; and Karen Kowalske, physical medicine and rehabilitation/burn treatment, Dallas.

Defense experts: David M. Blaisdell, automotive engineering, Gig Harbor, Wash.; and William Smock, emergency medicine/injury mechanism, Louisville, Ky.