BROWSE TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS BY LOCATION
From 1973 until 1987, General Motors Corporation sold over 9,000,000 pickup trucks with a glaring dangerous defect. The fuel tanks each carrying 20 gallons of gasoline were placed on the side of the trucks, outside the sturdy steel frame rails. The design conflicted with GM’s own design standards and when tested one crash test after another demonstrated that the fuel tanks were highly likely to rupture resulting in grave risk of terrible fires causing death and injury to the occupants. GM has known for over 30 years that that side-saddle design frequently causes such fiery collisions. But it is estimated that no less than 5 million of those vehicles remain on the road and in regular use. The many suits brought against GM have resulted in compensation to the plaintiffs but have not been sufficient to motivate GM to recall, fix or destroy those remaining trucks. It may be essential to obtain a very substantial punitive damage award to achieve that goal to provide appropriate safety to members of the public.
Our firm has prosecuted and assisted in prosecuting many cases for victims harmed by this defective design of side-saddle fuel tanks on the GM pickups. The standard for punitive damages in Oregon is “a reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm and defendant has acted with a conscious indifference to the health, safety, and welfare of others.” (See ORS 31.730(1)). From the cases handled by ourselves and by many others the evidence has accumulated which will justify punitive damages against General Motors.
GM has good engineers and those engineers recommended as early as 1964 that fuel tanks in General Motors’ vehicles be located outside of the cab or interior of the vehicle and as near the vehicle center as practical so that the tanks would be protected from impact or rupture in the event of any kind of accident. In its decision having been notified of the early test results and of the tragedies that were occurring on the highways from this design, GM failed to remedy it, failed to recall the vehicles, and demonstrated disregard for safety. In 1974 the first of hundreds of lawsuits against GM for damages resulting from this bad design was filed. To date GM has received notice of over 740 collisions of those pickups resulting in post-collision fuel leaks or fires. But GM has continued to choose profit over safety.
Finally after a 14 year run GM did change the design in the 1988 model by placing the fuel tanks between the frame rails. In the first 10 years after that design, only 21 post-collision fires were reported. But even with this knowledge, GM has continued to refuse to recall those millions of side saddle fuel tank pickups still on the road.
The 1973 to 1987 trucks were solid vehicles. They were enormously profitable. But it had a fatal defect. And GM must yet learn that they must take steps to remove them from the road. Civil actions granting to the plaintiff punitive in addition to compensatory damages is apparently the only way in which this will be accomplished.
The 1973 - 1987 trucks were enormously profitable; GM has lacked financial incentive to correct defects or remove the unconscionable hazard. Punitive damages may be the best method of driving GM to remove these “bombs” still on the roads.
Arthur C. Johnson is the senior shareholder of the firm Johnson, Clifton , Larson & Schaller P.C.. Mr. Johnson's practice focuses on product liability, defective medical products, industrial and workplace injuries, defective vehicles and aircraft, and truck and complex vehicle collisions. He also has been extensively involved in federal, multi-district product liability litigation.