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FCA Loses Appeal in Jeep Fire Fatality Verdict
Georgia’s Supreme Court has upheld a $40 million award against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in the death of a 4-year-old boy riding in a 1999 model Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV that burst into flames when it was rear-ended.
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Georgia’s Supreme Court has upheld a $40 million award against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in the death of a 4-year-old boy riding in a 1999 model Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV that burst into flames when it was rear-ended.
In 2015 a lower court reduced the jury award from the original $150 million.
The plaintiffs argued that the placement of the Jeep’s fuel tank near the rear bumper made a fire more likely if the vehicle was hit from behind. FCA insists its tanks are no more dangerous than those in comparable vehicles of the period. The company blames the death on the driver of the pickup truck that struck the Jeep.
In 2013 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded a recall of 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs. FCA refused, but it later agreed to retrofit 1.6 million of the vehicles with trailer hitches to help fortify their fuel tanks.
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