Quintana-Ruiz v. Hyundai Motor Corp.

• Decision Date: 27 August 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01-1694.,No. 01-1693.,01-1693.,01-1694.
• Citation: 303 F.3d 62
• Parties: Minerva QUINTANA-RUIZ, on her own behalf and in representation of her minor daughter, Ines M. Reyes-Quintana, Plaintiff, Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. HYUNDAI MOTOR CORPORATION, Defendant, Appellant, Cross-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

303 F.3d 62

Minerva QUINTANA-RUIZ, on her own behalf and in representation of her minor daughter, Ines M. Reyes-Quintana, Plaintiff, Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. HYUNDAI MOTOR CORPORATION, Defendant, Appellant, Cross-Appellee.

No. 01-1693.

No. 01-1694.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard June 11, 2002.

Decided August 27, 2002.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Leslie G. Landau with whom McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, LLP, Lee G. Sullivan, Gibson, McAskill & Crosby, LLP, Brian P. Crosby, Graffam & Biaggi, and Keith A. Graffam were on the brief for Hyundai Motor Corporation.

Francisco Rebollo-Casalduc with whom Andrés Guillemard-Noble, Giselle Colón, and Nachman, Guillemard & Rebollo were on the brief for Minerva Quintana-Ruiz.

Before SELYA and LYNCH, Circuit Judges, and SCHWARZER,^* Senior District Judge.

LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

This product design case tests some of the limits of the minority rule, adopted by Puerto Rico and California, that the defendant bears the burden of proving that the utility of a product's design outweighs the risks. Aponte Rivera v. Sears Roebuck de P.R., Inc., 144 P.R. Dec. 830, 840 n. 9, 1998 P.R.-Eng. 324486 n. 9, 1998 WL 198857 (1998); Barker v. Lull Eng'r Co., 20 Cal.3d 413, 143 Cal.Rptr. 225, 573 P.2d 443 (1978). The question here is whether a jury may find for a plaintiff, injured when her airbag properly deployed in an auto accident, when the evidence is that the overall utility of the design exceeds the overall risk, there is no evidence of the existence of an alternative safer design, and the jury verdict is based either on a misunderstanding of the law or solely on the jury's rejection of the testimony of the experts retained by the defendant. We hold that such a jury verdict is not sustainable. It effectively, in these circumstances, either converts the defendant to the status of an insurer or creates liability based on a consumer expectation theory. Since neither of these outcomes is permissible under Puerto Rican law, we reverse and direct entry of judgment for defendant.

I. FACTS

Early in the morning of August 10, 1996, Ines Reyes-Quintana, then fifteen years old, was returning from a party in a 1996 Hyundai Accent. Reyes-Quintana's brother was driving the car and Reyes-Quintana was in the front passenger's seat. The Hyundai was in the left lane of a two-lane road. A Nissan station wagon, traveling at a substantially slower speed, crossed from the right lane into the left lane, in front of the Hyundai. The Hyundai braked, leaving about 163 feet worth of skid marks on the road. The Hyundai then rear-ended the Nissan at a speed differential of about 30 miles per hour. The passenger-side airbag deployed, striking Reyes-Quintana's hand, which she had raised as if to brace herself.

The force of the airbag striking her arm fractured Reyes-Quintana's arm and wrist in four places. These were the only injuries Reyes-Quintana sustained in the accident.¹ The fractures required three surgeries, including the permanent attachment of two metal plates and sixteen metal screws. Reyes-Quintana has also experienced some permanent loss of strength and scarring in that arm. The Hyundai sustained significant damage, estimated at over $11,300.

II. TRIAL PROCEEDINGS

Only two experts testified on the airbag's design. Both experts were retained by the defendant, Hyundai. The plaintiff also offered the testimony of a medical expert to establish Reyes-Quintana's injuries.

A. Testimony of Dr. Martinez

Dr. Jose Martinez, formerly of Texas A & M University, testified as an accident reconstruction expert, providing the probable explanation of how the accident took place. He testified that the police reports showed 163 feet of braking marks before impact. Based on the damage sustained by the Hyundai, Dr. Martinez concluded that it was traveling thirty miles per hour faster than the Nissan at the point of impact. Based on this conclusion and the length of the skid marks, Dr. Martinez opined that the Hyundai had to be traveling at least 63 miles per hour before the driver began to brake.

Dr. Martinez explained the mechanics of accident reconstruction, a short summary of which is necessary in order to understand the issues in this case. Barrier equivalent velocity, referred to as BEV, is the speed at which a vehicle goes into a barrier, measured in miles per hour. BEV is used for setting the deployment level for airbags, and it is the measurement used in the relevant federal regulations. Delta V, a related but not identical concept, is the change in velocity of a vehicle, usually at the center of gravity, also measured in miles per hour. Generally, accident reconstruction experts measure the Delta V of the car environment, rather than that of a specific occupant. In accidents involving impact into a barrier, the BEV is often slightly less than the Delta V.

The higher the Delta V is, the more serious the injuries are likely to be. Conversely, the lower the Delta V, the less serious the injuries are likely to be. The majority of accidents occur in the 10 to 15 Delta V range. Generally, accidents with a Delta V under 15 are considered to be of lower severity. Middle severity accidents are in the 15 to 25 Delta V range; above 25 is considered high severity. Dr. Martinez testified that a BEV of 15 "is where you start to get serious injuries, according to the statistics" and that is "where you want that air bag to go off." He also testified that even an accident referred to as "low severity" is not mild because, if you are unrestrained, such an accident can "put your head in the windshield" and cause serious injuries. Although he could not provide the specific percentiles of how many people would get hurt in an accident with a BEV under 14, he stated that "people do get hurt and will get hurt" in those types of accidents. Dr. Martinez testified that an accident with a BEV of 12 would cause an unbelted test dummy to go through the windshield. Based on his reconstruction of the plaintiff's accident, Dr. Martinez estimated the BEV of the accident at "14 to 16, or maybe thirteen and change" and the Delta V at "15 to 16, could be 15 to 17."

The airbag in this Hyundai model is designed to always deploy in accidents with a BEV of 12 or greater, and so the deployment of the airbag was in keeping with its intended design. Dr. Martinez testified that, in any American car with an airbag, the airbag would have deployed in an accident of the type at issue here. Nothing in the cross-examination impeached any of these conclusions. The plaintiff's counsel attempted to make Dr. Martinez concede that Hyundai could have chosen an airbag design that would deploy at a higher BEV; Dr. Martinez responded that he did not know whether it was possible to create a design that would only deploy at a BEV of over 14 and still meet the federal performance standards.

The plaintiff's counsel also attempted to get Dr. Martinez to concede that he knew of studies indicating that airbag deployment at a BEV of less than 15 causes more injuries than it prevents; Dr. Martinez responded that he had no knowledge of such studies. No such studies were introduced. Dr. Martinez's overall conclusion was that, even at accidents with a BEV of 14 and less, the airbag "does more good than harm."

B. Testimony of Dr. Benedict

Dr. James Benedict, an expert in the response of the human body to acceleration and impact forces, such as in accidents, also testified. Specifically, he is an expert in biomechanical analysis, occupant kinematics, injury causation, and airbag performance. Although the defense retained Dr. Benedict, the plaintiff called him as a witness and presented his testimony. He testified that Reyes-Quintana's arm injuries were consistent with impact with the deploying passenger airbag. He estimated that her forearm was one to three inches from the dashboard at the time of the injury, based on the fact that forearm fractures rarely occur when the arm is three or more inches away from the airbag. He also testified that even if the airbag had not deployed, Reyes-Quintana could have received the same fractures in her forearm.

According to Dr. Benedict's testimony, the airbag deploys when sensors in the car detect a change in acceleration level; the airbag is essentially "predictive in nature," in that it must predict the severity of the collision based on the initial change in acceleration. The airbag deploys in about one-fourth of the time it takes to blink an eye. Dr. Benedict testified that he knew of no way for an airbag to deploy more slowly and still provide the required protection. As for the Hyundai involved in this particular accident, Dr. Benedict testified that the airbag was designed to deploy in every accident with a BEV of 12 or higher(which he referred to as the "must fire" level), but because of variances in vehicle tolerances, could deploy at a BEV of as low as 8.9. He agreed that in any car in America in 1996, the airbag would deploy during a crash with a BEV of 15.

Like Dr. Martinez, Dr. Benedict testified that he would classify an accident occurring at zero to 14 or 15 Delta V as a low severity accident; an accident occurring at 15 to 25 Delta V as a moderate severity accident; an accident occurring at 25 to 35 Delta V as a severe accident; and any accident over 35 Delta V as very severe. He testified that these are "ranges," and the categorization may vary from expert to expert.

Dr. Benedict testified that the effects of a crash with a BEV of 15 could vary. Some occupants will emerge from such an accident with minor or moderate injuries, referred to as "AIS-I" or "AIS-II" injuries, in reference to the Abbreviated Injury Scale system for categorizing the severity of injuries. Perhaps as many as half of those involved in such crashes would walk away from the accident with no injuries. An unbelted individual without an airbag in the type of crash experienced by Reyes-Quintana, however, could hit...