Jensen v. American Suzuki Motor Corp.

Justice EISMANN,

specially concurring.

I concur in the foregoing opinion, but I write to explain why the plaintiffs’ reliance upon Fouche v. Chrysler Motors Corporation, 107 Idaho 701, 692 P.2d 345 (1984), was misplaced. The plaintiff if Fouche alleged that the injuries he suffered during the collision were enhanced by a defective seat belt and collapsible steeling column. The impact of the collision caused his chest to strike the steering wheel with enough force to bend the steering column. Following the impact, he complained of chest pain, the cause of which was correctly diagnosed as a ruptured aorta. When his chest struck the steering wheel, the steeling column collapsed between 1% and 1% inches instead of the five inches it was designed to collapse. Prior to the collision Mr. Fouche had tested the seat belt, and it would not permit him to move forward far enough to touch his chest to the steering wheel. Following the accident, he discovered that his seat belt, although still latched, had unraveled. We held that the evidence, even without expert testimony, was sufficient to show that the seat belt and steering column were defective; that as a result of these defects Mr. Fouche’s chest struck the steering wheel with considerable force, causing his severe chest injury; and that his chest injury was the type of injury that the seat belt and collapsible steering column were designed to prevent. We also noted that nearly everyone has had the experience of a sudden stop or of slowing down in an automobile and understands the effect such a motion has on people within the vehicle.

In the instant case, however, the average juror has not experienced a rollover collision in a small car traveling at 75 miles per hour. Whether the minor injuries suffered by plaintiffs are greater than would normally be expected in such an accident is not a matter of common experience. Likewise, neither plaintiff suffered any injury that, by its nature, you could reasonably conclude was caused or enhanced by the alleged failure of his seat belt. Thus, the circumstances in this case were not sufficient to show that the plaintiffs’ injuries were either caused or enhanced by the allegedly defective seat belts. To make that showing, they would have needed expert testimony. Because the testimony of defense expert Moffatt was unrebutted, the district court’s grant of summary judgment was appropriate.