Trials & Litigation

Jury awards $248.6M in fatal crash case; Hyundai will appeal

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After an award of $248.6 million late Tuesday to the survivors of two cousins killed in a July 2011 head-on crash, Hyundai Motor America vowed to appeal in a Wednesday statement.

The company called the Montana award, which included $8.6 million in compensatory damages and $240 million in punitive damages, “outrageous,” the Associated Press reports.

Hyundai contends a firecracker startled the driver of the Tiburon and caused it to swerve into another vehicle; the plaintiffs say the accident was caused by a steering defect. A passenger in the other vehicle also died.

See also:

ABAJournal.com: “Did firecracker or defect cause Hyundai crash? ‘Bombshell’ evidence is suddenly noticed during trial”

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