Attorney Lance Alan Cooper's Legal Cases

Defective and dangerous products

Tran v. Toyota Motor Corporation

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Toyota settled a case involving a 1993 Toyota Cressida. Mai Tran was the belted driver of the Cressida when she was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. Mai sustained a broken neck res ... ulting in quadriplegia. Mai alleged that the automatic shoulder belt in the Cressida rode up on her neck during the collision and, ultimately, broke her neck. Mai and her husband Nader, settled with Toyota for a confidential amount.

Defective and dangerous products

Cox v. Toyota

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Toni Cox was riding in the front passenger seat of a 1986 Toyota Cressida when another car collided with her vehicle. The seat belt system in the front seats consisted of a motorized passive shoulder b ... elt (the kind that runs along a track in the roof rail) and manual lap belt. Due to defects in the design and geometry of the shoulder belt, Ms. Cox sustained severe and permanent internal abdominal injuries in the accident. We were brought into the case by another law firm after Toyota filed a summary judgment motion alleging federal preemption. We had defeated a similar motion in the Zaboli v. Mazda case. After we filed our opposition to the motion, Toyota agreed to pay Ms. Cox a significant confidential sum.

Defective and dangerous products

Smith v. Nissan

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Jeffrey Smith was involved in an accident as a passenger in a 1994 Nissan Altima. The airbag deployed and struck Mr. Smith in his face, causing permanent injury to his left eye. The injury was due to t ... he phenomenon known as "bag slap," which resulted from the defective design of the Altima airbag. This defect ultimately forced Nissan to recall the 1994 Altimas. We were able to negotiate a sizable confidential settlement for Mr. Smith.

Defective and dangerous products

Adamson v. General Motors

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Mary Adamson was riding as a passenger in the center rear seat position of a 1987 Pontiac 6000 that was involved in a low-speed frontal collision with another car. Ms. Adamson was wearing the lap-only ... seat belt provided by General Motors. The lap belt caused severe abdominal injuries to Ms. Adamson, which resulted in her death after seven months of hospitalization. Through intensive discovery, the firm proved that GM knew of the dangers posed by lap belts and failed to install safer three-point lap/shoulder belts or to warn passengers such as Ms. Adamson of the dangers. We opposed GM's motion to dismiss the case under the ten-year statute of repose by demonstrating to the court that GM acted with reckless disregard in designing the vehicle. While that motion was pending, GM agreed to pay Ms. Adamson's family a substantial confidential settlement.

Defective and dangerous products

Markstein v. DaimlerChrysler, TRW, Honeywell, and Autoliv

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Glenn Markstein was killed in a head-on collision in his 1994 Chrysler LeBaron convertible. His airbag failed to deploy, and his seatbelt failed to restrain him, allowing his head to strike the windshi ... eld header. During the case, the firm uncovered evidence that Chrysler had failed to adequately test its airbag sensor system in collisions like Mr. Markstein's. At a mediation requested by the defendants, we were able to negotiate a significant confidential settlement for Mrs. Markstein and her two children.

Defective and dangerous products

Zaboli v. Mazda

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Nancy Zaboli was rendered a quadriplegic by the defective seatbelt in her 1992 Mazda Protege. Mrs. Zaboli was short-statured, and the automatic shoulder belt in her Protege was designed such that it wo ... uld come across her neck instead of over her shoulder. Mrs. Zaboli was involved in a moderate (20-25 mph) accident, and the belt "clotheslined" her, causing her catastrophic injury. We not only proved this design was defective, but that it violated Mazda's own internal standards regarding belt fit. We also defeated Mazda's summary judgment motion, in which it argued the Zabolis' claims were preempted by the federal motor vehicle safety standards. We were able to secure a confidential settlement for the Zabolis that Mazda acknowledged was the most it had ever paid in a seatbelt case before trial. This settlement was structured to take care of Mrs. Zaboli for the rest of her life.

Defective and dangerous products

Cole v. Honeywell

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Garrison Cole was seven years old when he was badly burned in a house fire. He sustained second and third degree burns over more than fifty percent of his body. He survived for approximately sixty days ... , in intense pain and agony, before dying of his injuries. Garrison's home had a Honeywell fire alarm that did not work during the fire and failed to alert Garrison or his father to the fire. We represented Garrison's mother in her case against Honeywell. At the outset of the case, Honeywell boldly proclaimed its innocence and said the case was frivolous. After intense investigation and discovery, we found that the Honeywell system in Garrison's home had been installed improperly and that Honeywell had inadequately trained its technicians in the installation and service of its systems. Following the disclosure of this devastating evidence, Honeywell agreed to pay a substantial confidential sum to compensate Garrison's family for his death.

Defective and dangerous products

Adcock v. Honda

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Larry Adcock was rendered quadriplegic when his 1999 Honda Civic CRX rolled over and the roof crushed down on his head. The firm was able to show that the roof was too weak and that it was inadequately ... tested by Honda. Mr. Adcock received a substantial confidential settlement.

Defective and dangerous products

Armour v. Toyota

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

Debbie Armour's daughter was a passenger in a Toyota 4Runner that rolled over on the highway. The firm established that the rollover was caused by the defective design of the 4Runner, and Toyota agreed ... to compensate Ms. Armour with a substantial confidential sum.

Defective and dangerous products

Bone v. Mitsubishi; Gordon v. Mitsubishi

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement

In these cases, Danelle Bone and Kathryn Gordon were severely injured when their Mitsubishi Montero Sports rolled over due to design defects. After intensive litigation and investigation by our firm, M ... itsubishi agreed to pay our clients significant confidential sums to compensate them for their injuries.

Lance Alan Cooper's Legal Cases (27)

Tran v. Toyota Motor Corporation

Cox v. Toyota

Smith v. Nissan

Adamson v. General Motors

Markstein v. DaimlerChrysler, TRW, Honeywell, and Autoliv

Zaboli v. Mazda

Cole v. Honeywell

Adcock v. Honda

Armour v. Toyota

Bone v. Mitsubishi; Gordon v. Mitsubishi