Good guys win: Hawaii Judge Finds for Plaintiff in Seatbelt Defect Case

A 26-year-old man paralyzed after a car crash on Hawaii Belt Road was awarded $16.5 million in his lawsuit against a Japanese seatbelt manufacturer. The lawsuit alleged the seatbelt failed to operate properly, which caused the driver to be thrown from the vehicle. The jury found Takata Corp. was negligent in the design of the defective seatbelt, used in the 1987 Pathfinder the man was driving. Kevin Dayton, Honolulu Advertiser 04/24/2006 Read Article: Honolulu Advertiser

We knew it all the time, didn’t we? Whistle-blower says defects hidden at Toyota-GM plant.

Katy Cameron, a veteran auditor at a General Motors / Toyota plant in California, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the automakers claiming the managers intentionally overlooked serious safety flaws. Ms. Cameron says plant management routinely deleted defects that included brake and seatbelt problems. See, my Blog -- Good guys win: Hawaii Judge Finds for Plaintiff in Seatbelt Defect Case More about "whistleblower lawsuits."

As soon as she voiced concerns about the safety problems, Ms. Cameron was demoted and accused of suffering from mental instability. Yuri Kageyama, USA Today 11/20/2007 Read Article: USA Today