Guentzel v. Toyota Motor Corp.

• Decision Date: 31 March 1989
• Docket Number: No. 04-87-00290-CV,04-87-00290-CV
• Citation: 768 S.W.2d 890
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 12,135 M. Neal GUENTZEL, Appellant, v. TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, et al., Appellees.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 890

768 S.W.2d 890

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 12,135

M. Neal GUENTZEL, Appellant, v. TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, et al., Appellees.

No. 04-87-00290-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas,

San Antonio.

March 31, 1989.

Rehearing Denied May 1, 1989.

James Warncke, Branton, Warncke, Hall & Gonzales, San Antonio, for appellant.

Lewin Plunkett, Harry S. Bates, Plunkett, Gibson & Allen, San Antonio, for appellees.

Before CADENA, C.J., and REEVES and CHAPA, JJ.

OPINION

REEVES, Justice.

M. Neal Guentzel, individually and as next friend of his minor children, sued Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. for personal injuries suffered in an automobile accident. In the accident Mrs. Guentzel was killed and three children were seriously injured. One child, Neal Andrew, was rendered a paraplegic.

Guentzel, hereinafter referred to as appellant, alleges the lap belt restraint system in the rear seat of the family's 1982 two-door Toyota Tercel was defectively and negligently designed. According to appellant, this defect allowed the children to "submarine" ¹ under the lap belts, thereby causing the severity of the injuries. The jury failed to find the seat belt restraint system defectively or negligently designed and appellant now appeals to this court. We reverse the trial court's decision, and remand for a new trial.

Appellant contends the trial court erred in 1. failing to grant a new trial because the refusal of the jury to find the seat belt system in the Toyota was defectively designed is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence;

2. failing to grant a new trial because the refusal of the jury to find the seat belt system in the Toyota was negligently designed is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence;

3. in excluding the testimony of a medical doctor that had the seat belt remained upon the pelvis above the iliac crest the doctor would not have expected the abdominal injuries received by Neal Andrew Guentzel to occur.

The Accident

On March 7, 1985, at about 7:00 p.m., Martha Guentzel was driving her 1982 two-door Toyota Tercel on a highway near the San Antonio International Airport. The Guentzel children--Neal, Amy, and Gary--were seated in the backseat. The children were wearing lap belts. As Mrs. Guentzel was proceeding in a southerly direction, a 1984 Mercury Marquis, traveling in a northerly direction, crossed the median between the lanes and collided head-on with the Toyota.

Mrs. Guentzel was killed instantly. Amy suffered severe abdominal injuries which resulted in a colostomy, which was later surgically reversed. Neal suffered abdominal injuries, a dislocated fracture at the L4-5 lumbar, and a stretch injury of the spinal cord which resulted in paraplegia at the T4 level. Gary had a fracture of the right iliac crest.

Controlling Factual Issue

The appellant urges and appellee acquiesces that "this case turns upon whether or not the lap belts remained upon the pelvis and beneath the iliac crest." If a lap belt rises above the iliac crest, then Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209 has been violated. In relevant part, this standard (Title 49, Chapter 5, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, section 571.209, subsection S4.1, point b) states, "A seat belt assembly shall provide pelvic restraint whether or not upper torso restraint is provided, and the pelvic restraint shall be designed to remain on the pelvis under all conditions, including collision or roll-over of the motor vehicle." Experts for both appellant and appellee agree that if a seat belt comes up over the iliac crest, it is no longer on the pelvic girdle and is in violation of the federal standard. Whether or not the children submarined was a question of fact to be decided by the jury.

Appellate Review

Appellant's first two points of error deal with the sufficiency of the evidence. When reviewing a jury verdict to determine the factual sufficiency of the evidence, the court of appeals must (1) consider all the evidence and (2) weigh all the evidence. Pool v. Ford Motor Co., 715 S.W.2d 629, 635 (Tex.1986); Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175 (Tex.1986). Some have alleged this procedure means the reviewing court engages in "thought processes" akin to that undertaken by a jury. Cropper v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 754 S.W.2d 646, 651 (Tex.1988).

To a limited extent this is true. This Court has studied the same exhibits shown to the jury. We have read the testimony given by each witness. This Court must sustain the jury verdict unless it is contrary to the "overwhelming weight" of the evidence. Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d at 176. An appellate court cannot merely substitute its judgment for that of the jury. Cropper v. Caterpillar, 754 S.W.2d at 651.

The Injuries

Appellant contends the seat belt system in the Toyota was defectively and negligently designed and this defect caused the children's injuries. He theorizes that, upon impact, the seat belts slipped off each child's pelvis, rose above the iliac crest and landed upon the soft tissue of the abdomen above the navel. With the seat belt so located, blunt trauma occurred to the internal organs. The appellee contends the seat belts did the task for which they were designed and had it not been for the seat belts, the injuries would have been far worse because it was such a horrible wreck.

To simply say the intensity of the collision caused the injuries does not suffice as an explanation. When a motor vehicle moves forward at a certain rate of speed, the human body inside is traveling at that same rate. When a collision occurs, the vehicle stops suddenly, but the body inside still tends to forward movement, at least for a second or so. The body then slams backward and this sudden backward movement again gives rise to another forward movement until the body comes to rest.

If a seatbelt has slipped and is acting as a restraint upon soft tissue, as appellant contends, blunt trauma or decelerative injury results. If the seatbelt remains against the bony surface of the pelvis, as appellee argues, the severity of any resulting injury will depend on the initial intensity of the collision.

For example, Amy suffered severe injury to her mesentery. The mesentery is an internal membrane which holds the small intestine, principally the ileum and jejunum. This membrane connects these parts of the small intestine to the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity. It also serves to retain the intestines in position and conveys to them connecting blood vessels and nerves. With Amy, an avulsion occurred. The jejunum, ileum and sigmoid colon--all heavier than the mesentery--tore away from the mesentery. Because blood supply was interrupted, surgeons had to remove 10 centimeters of jejunum and 120 centimeters of ileum. To allow the intestine time and opportunity to heal, Amy had a colostomy, which was later reversed.

Neal suffered similar abdominal injuries but his colostomy is irreversible. In addition, upon impact, Neal's upper body apparently arched over the seatbelt at the waistline. The spinal cord, stretched beyond its capacity, snapped at approximately the T4 level. This caused paralysis from that point down. Appellant contends that the seatbelt acted as a fulcrum and Neal's body "jack-knifed" because the soft abdomen allowed much more play than would have the pelvis. Additionally, Neal had to undergo a fusion at the L4-5 lumbar spine due to a fracture.

Gary's appreciable injury was a fracture of the right iliac crest. Appellant contends this proves the seatbelt moved above the navel. Appellee is just as positive the fracture shows proper placement of the seatbelt as the fracture would not have occurred unless it stayed in place.

The Testimony

The Emergency Medical Technicians

The most profound area of disagreement centered around the locations of bruises and/or abrasions on the children's bodies. If these markings were above the navel, this would be a solid indicator that submarining did occur; if below the navel, essentially the seat belts did their job.

At trial, a significant portion of the testimony concerned locations upon and injury within the abdomen. As a general rule, physicians and medical personnel divide the abdomen into four quadrants, with the navel in the center. "Lower abdomen" would indicate below the navel.

NOTE: OPINION CONTAINS TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE

The first people immediately on the scene of the accident who could describe the children's conditions were the emergency medical technicians (EMT). Bruce Schwall, who was involved with Neal's care, testified that he saw a "discoloration" across Neal's lower abdomen. When Neal's pants were removed, Schwall said he observed "rope-burn" red abrasions about an inch or two below the navel. As to Amy, the EMT said he noted abdominal abrasions below the navel.

EMT Leo Corolla worked with Gary and he testified Gary had abrasions right below the navel. There was also testimony from Corolla's earlier deposition that Gary complained of pain in his lower abdomen, at the vicinity of the navel. A third EMT, Rudolf Puzon, testified that Amy also complained of abdominal pain. Puzon also testified that the bruises on Neal were below the navel.

Henry Valadez, a television cameraman, was also on the scene. He told the jury he saw bruise marks on the little boy in the ambulance (Gary) and the markings were above the stomach.

At the Hospital

Shortly after the children were taken to the hospital, a neighbor of the Guentzels, Cheryl Kelley, arrived to help. She testified she sat with each child, in turn, when appellant was caring for another child. She told the jury she observed "rope marks," across the navel, on all three children. Appellant also testified he saw abrasions, across the navel, on Gary.

Dr. Arthur McFee

Dr. McFee performed the initial abdominal surgery on Neal to treat the immediate life-threatening injuries. However, he did not see any evidence of seatbelt abrasions...