FindLaw.com, "Nebraska High Court Affirms $18.6 Million Verdict in Chevy Blazer Roof-Crush Case"

          The Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed an $18.6 million verdict for the plaintiff in a roof-crush case involving a 1996 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The state high court rejected the contention of defendant General Motors Corp. that the jury was improperly instructed and improperly denied a fourth verdict form.
          According to the opinion, the accident at issue occurred Sept. 11, 1997, when Kenneth Long lost control of the Blazer and it rolled over four times. His passenger, Penny Shipler, suffered injuries rendering her quadriplegic. Shipler sued GM and Long in the Lancaster County District Court, claiming that the Blazer roof was defective and had crushed inward, causing her injury. She charged GM with negligence for failing to use reasonable care in designing the roof or failing to issue adequate warnings. She also alleged strict liability based on the theory that the roof structure was defective at the time the vehicle left GM's possession and that the defect made the Blazer unreasonably dangerous.
          GM argued at trial that Shipler and Long had been drinking before the accident, but the judge excluded such evidence as irrelevant in a crashworthiness case. The trial court instructed the jury that there were three possible verdicts: either Long or GM or both defendants proximately caused Shipler's injuries. The jury awarded Long nearly $19.6 million, reduced to about $18.6 million after Shipler agreed to eliminate a seat belt defect claim in exchange for a 5 percent reduction in the judgment.