Langdon & Emison

$59 million, Defective Vehicles, Kumar v. Toyota

Taking place in Maryland, the case of Kumar v. Toyota highlighted the effects of defective seatbelts due to manufacturers’ lack of warning their car riders. Our plaintiff was sitting in the passenger seat of the car in the reclined position when the accident happened. When the car came into contact with another vehicle, the plaintiff slipped under the seatbelt due to the reclined position of the seat. The injuries of this crash resulted in amputation of our client. After a well-fought trial the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, awarding him $57.9 million. LE’s arguments attributed to the jury ruling that the vehicle Kumar was riding in was deemed defective, because Toyota failed to warn passengers that traveling in the reclined position was dangerous.

$43.1 million, Spinal Cord Injury, Defective Seat Back, Heco v. Midstate Dodge LLC et al.

The largest Vermont verdict at the time, Heco v. Johnson Controls Inc was a terrible accident causing our plaintiff, a 50-year-old mother of two becoming a quadriplegic. Just like any other day in 2007, Heco was driving and ended up at a stop light, within just a few short moments a careless driver came out of nowhere and rear-ended her resulting in her paralyzing injuries. In what should’ve been a walk away accident, the driver’s seat back broke and reclined backwards which then ejected Heco into the back of the car. The family devastated at the news of their mother’s permanent state were willing to do whatever it takes to overcome the adversity ahead. LE was able to try the case and receive a $43 million verdict for the plaintiff due to their claim of Johnson Controls having defective seatbacks in their vehicles and the Heco family was finally able to celebrate for the first time in a long time.

$26.4 million, Defective Vehicles, Wasilik v. Ford

Focusing further inside LE’s range of expertise of defective vehicles, we took on a case involving defects in the fuel system of a 1987 Ford F-150 pickup truck. Our client, Wasilik, was in a terrible head-on collision which led to life-changing injuries. The crash turned into a fuel-fed fire when gasoline started siphoning out of the fuel tank after initial impact. Wasilik suffered third degree burns over 65% of his body which resulted in the amputation of his right arm and leg. Becoming one of the largest tort verdicts in Maryland at the time, Wasilik was awarded $26.4 million for the unforgettable trauma of the accident. LE’s claims were successfully ruled in the plaintiff’s favor while arguing the dangerous placement of fuel tanks in that model of vehicle, making them susceptible leaks and fires.

$23.4 million, Defective Vehicles, Castillo v. Ford

In a 2007 accident, LE represented Castillo in a case against Ford Motor Company in a California Superior Court. Castillo, a single mother with a 1997 Ford Explorer, was driving down the road when the left rear tire suddenly de-treaded. This defect caused the vehicle to become uncontrollable, running it off of the highway down a steep embankment and into a tree. The accident caused Castillo to suffer catastrophic injuries such as quadriplegia and severe brain damage requiring lifelong care. After a 6-week trial targeting Ford and the tire manufacturers, LE presented crucial evidence that Ford did, in fact, have knowledge of similar tire defects. It was noted that they had spent $3.5 million to fix the problem in Venezuela but did not fix the $500 million problem for North America. This evidence ultimately lead the jury to be in favor of the plaintiff, awarding a total of $23.4 million verdict for Castillo’s pain and suffering from the incident.

$16.9 million, Defective Vehicles, Martin v. Ford

LE secured a major victory for a Florida woman who was left paraplegic after a tragic collision in a Windstar minivan. The legal team’s powerful argument focused on Ford’s failure to warn drivers about the hidden dangers of riding with a reclined seat—a crucial safety oversight that played a key role in the accident. In this compelling case, the firm not only exposed Ford’s negligence but also demonstrated how overlooked design flaws can lead to catastrophic consequences. The legal team successfully argued that Ford failed to warn our client about the hidden dangers of riding with a reclined seat, awarding the plaintiff with a $16.9 million verdict.

$12.5 million, Defective Vehicles, Mathes v. Ford

In another defective vehicle case, Mr. Mathes was driving his Ford F-150 when suddenly he was hit by a semi-truck. After the initial hit, the F-150 was then rear-ended by another vehicle which caused the fuel tank of Mathes’ truck to be punctured. Within minutes, his series of events sparked Mathes’ truck, engulfing it in flames, and tragically taking the three lives of Mr. Mathes’ son and parents. The heartbreaking case led LE to file a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company once again for their negligent placement of fuel tank systems. A jury granted Mr. Mathes $12.5 million.

$8 million, Brain Injuries, Defective Vehicles, George v. Johnson Controls, Inc.

Taking place in Platte County, Missouri, 2-year old Aaliyah George was severely injured in a minor collision due to a defective seat back designed by Johnson Controls Inc. Sitting at a red light, her grandmother in the driver’s seat, a vehicle rear-ended their car causing the driver’s seat to collapse backward clashing her grandmother’s head against Aaliyah’s. Despite being properly restrained in her car seat, this resulted in permanent partial paralysis and brain damage. Doctors testified that Aaliyah’s cognitive abilities would likely be permanently limited to that of an adolescent. Experts on the case also noted that the design of the Dodge Neon allowed the seat to “twist” when rear impacted. To prevent these failures, they added, the seats should have been designed with dual recliners. Three years later, L&E went to fight for Aaliyah in trial coming out with a favorable $8 million verdict which will hopefully help get receive the care she needs.

$6 million verdict, Defective Fan, Mason v. Wal-Mart

A heart-wrenching case, where the Mason family purchased a fan from Wal-Mart and it tragically caught fire in their child’s room. Their 14 month-old baby burned to death while sleeping due to the fan’s defects. When Langdon & Emison fought for the Mason family’s grievances over the loss, they were able to bring Wal-Mart rightful justice securing a $6 million verdict from a Jackson County jury. They argued that the fan did not have a cut-off device, which is a crucial production element that would have prevented the fan from overheating and resulting in a fatal blaze.

$3.75 million recovery, Gas Explosion, Patterson v. Confidential Defendant

In the Northeastern region of the U.S., the Patterson family suffered devastating injuries due to a rogue 325-gallon propane tank. The propane tank was placed and filled on the property for the previous owner 3 years prior to the Patterson family moving in. The Patterson’s requested multiple times for it to be removed in the span of their 5-year residency, but to no avail it stayed in its original location. In a nightmarish turn of events, their neighbors were deafened by the sound of the propane explosion which obliterated the Patterson’s home and sent some family members multiple feet into the air and back down into the fiery debris. This incident caused the Patterson’s to suffer severe and permanent injuries and burns to their bodies. Langdon & Emison brought justice for the Patterson family bringing home a $3.75 million recovery for the family for the negligence that led to a catastrophic, but preventable event.

$4 million verdict, Auto Product Liability, Newton v. Trade Winds

Michael Newton, a Missouri State Highway patrolman, was in the middle of issuing a ticket on the right-hand shoulder of the highway to a citizen. All of a sudden, a commercial truck hit his police cruiser from behind which, in turn, punctured his fuel tank. This tragic incident caused Trooper Newton to burn to death while the other person in his car survived the impact, but still left the scene with severe burns. Langdon & Emison was able to achieve a $4 million verdict for the grieving Newton family and hold the Trade Winds company accountable.

Railroad Crossing Collision, Finch-Williams v. Union Pacific Railroad

A case involving the Union Pacific Railroad was settled with a favorable amount for our client, Finch-Williams. A high-speed train and a front-end loader collided on the railroad tracks resulting in a tragic death of our young Texas native. Langdon & Emison was able to argue in Finch-William’s favor that the crossing in which the collision happened had been negligently operated, leading to helpful settlement to the client’s family to support them and their grievances.

Workplace Accidents, Salazar v. Ameren Union Electric

A lineman for Union Electric Company/Ameren UE, James Salazar, suffered life-changing injuries after being electrocuted by a 7,200-volt power line while working on-site in St. Louis, MO. While working out of a bucket truck, Mr. Salazar was ordered to work on a utility pole without first shutting down the power. This action put Mr. Salazar in an extremely hazardous situation. While working on the pole, his arm came into contact with a Cellnet antenna that was mounted on the pole and around the electrical wire where he was working, this triggered an arc flash event. The event resulted in Salazar receiving severe electrical burns and the amputation of his left arm. Through diligent legal efforts, Langdon & Emison held those responsible for the unsafe working conditions accountable and secured a settlement to help Mr. Salazar recover from this catastrophic incident.

Fuel-fed Fire/Defective Fuel System, Hockerman v. Chrysler settlement

Langdon & Emison took on a heart-wrenching case involving the Hockerman family after suffering a devastating loss of their 2 children. Their defective Chrysler minivan to blame, after being struck on the driver’s side by another vehicle, burst into fuel-fed fi fiery flames in minutes burning their 2 children to death. Langdon & Emison was able to expose the number of defects in the fuel system design on the minivan, including a defective fuel tank filler neck and a lack of an anti-spill valve. These 2 defects alone were responsible for the fire, which could have been prevented completely. They even dug further into the argument and claimed that Chrysler failed to test the capability of the fuel filler hose to withstand absolute minimum crash forces during the design and development process of the subject minivans.

Ford Explorer Rollover/Aged Tire, Patrick v. Ford settlement

The Patrick family was on their way home to Las Vegas after attending a family funeral when they experienced a flat tire overnight. They replaced the tire with a full-sized Michelin spare tire and after only a short time, the Michelin tire experienced a catastrophic failure and de-treaded. This caused the ford Explorer to roll while still on the highway injuring each member of the Patrick family and killing Carol Patrick in the midst of the accident. Langdon & Emison was able to achieve a settlement for the Patrick family even though it cannot fix the loss of a loved one, they can hopefully find ways to move forward without the extra weight of financial burden.

Seat Belt Defects/Tire Defects, Demas v. Nissan/Michelin settlement

Seatbelts have the ability to save your life, but what happens to those odds when the seat belt itself is defective? Chad Demas was sitting in the front passenger seat of a 1994 Nissan Sentra when the rear passenger tire suddenly de-treaded. This in turn caused the vehicle to overturn 1.5 times before coming to a halt upside down on it’s roof. Mr. Demas was fully and properly restrained before this incident, yet somehow lost all seat belt protection. Langdon & Emison called in their experts to analyze what happened and concluded that the front passenger door opened during the rollover which caused the automatic shoulder belt to move up and forward, out of its locked position. This chain of events allowed the crash forces to eject our client from the vehicle suffering life-altering injuries leading to a favorable settlement.

For years our firm has handled select matters pro bono on behalf of local community members.  Our firm has been honored several times as having the #1 pro bono program within plaintiff's firms in the U.S. 

Most recently we earned national media attention for our work on behalf of a wrongfully convicted man in conjunction with the Midwest Innocence Project:

https://www.langdonemison.com/firm-news-collection/michael-politte-released-from-prison-after-more-than-20-years/