For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 16, 1998
For More Information Contact: TLPJ, 202-797-8600

New York's High Court Holds That Crash Victims Can Sue Automakers for Failure to Install Airbags

Six-to-One Decision Expected to Have Influence Nationwide Heading

The New York Court of Appeals held today that injured crash victims can sue auto manufacturers for negligently failing to install airbags in their cars. The 6-1 decision in Drattel v. Toyota Motor Corp. rejects Toyota's argument that the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 precludes such suits, noting that the statute provides that compliance with federal safety standards "does not exempt any person from liability at common law."

"This is a major victory for crash victims in New York and throughout the country," said Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ) Executive Director Arthur Bryant, who argued the case for the plaintiffs before New York's high court. "For over a decade, the auto manufacturers sacrificed lives for profit by refusing to install airbags. This decision confirms that they can be held accountable. As the court made clear, Congress enacted the 1966 Motor Vehicle Safety Act to protect consumers, not leave innocent crash victims without a remedy."

"Congress never intended to grant auto manufacturers immunity for needlessly endangering motorists' lives," said plaintiffs' trial counsel Alan M. Shapey of Ligsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman, P.C. "The court has properly held that Caryn Drattel and similarly situated crash victims have a right to their day in court."

The Drattel case arose after Caryn Drattel was severely injured, through no fault of her own, when another car crashed into her Toyota Tercel, at approximately 25 miles per hour, in November 1991. At the time of the collision, Caryn was wearing both the shoulder harness and lap belt in the Tercel. Despite that fact, partly because the Tercel was so small and light, her head hit the car's interior with such force that she suffered permanent brain damage. She is now unable to work, care for herself, or care for her young child.

In March 1993, Jason Drattel, Caryn's husband and appointed legal guardian, sued Toyota under New York common law, alleging that Caryn's 1991 Toyota Tercel was negligently designed because it failed to adequately protect her in the crash. Because New York law requires plaintiffs to prove that a safer alternative design was available, the Drattels alleged, among other things, that the car would have been safer if it had an airbag.

The trial court held, however, that the Drattels could not try to prove that claim. Toyota could not be held liable for failing to install an airbag, it ruled, since federal regulations allowed Toyota to manufacture cars with or without airbags. The Drattels appealed and the Second Department of New York's Appellate Divison reversed, explicitly disagreeing with a contrary 1995 ruling by the same court's Fourth Department, Panarites v. Williams and Toyota Motor Corp.

The New York Court of Appeals' decision affirming Drattel and rejecting Panarites is expected to have a national impact, both because of the Court's prestige and because of the scholarly nature of the Court's 25-page opinion. The opinion for the six-member majority was authored by Judge Joseph W. Bellacosa. Judge Howard A. Levine dissented.

In addition to Bryant and Shapey, Brian J. Isaac of New York's Pollack, Pollack, Isaac & DeCicco also represented the Drattels on appeal.

Since 1995, the Supreme Courts of New Hampshire, Indiana, Arizona, Ohio, and Texas have all held that auto companies can be sued for failing to install airbags. Because no trial has taken place yet, Toyota cannot seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the Drattel ruling at this time.