A U.S. Navy lieutenant says he was driving a new Hyundai when suddenly the wheel malfunctioned, causing the car to cross lanes of Interstate 95. (Photo: Hyundai)
A Connecticut jury recently found that the front driver's side wheel of a new Hyundai Elantra was not defective when the vehicle crossed lanes of a highway, injuring the driver.
|The lawsuit
In his September 2015 lawsuit, Ryan Brown Jr., a 28-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant, says he was driving the new vehicle, which he had purchased 13 days earlier, when suddenly the wheel malfunctioned, causing the car to cross lanes of Interstate 95 in Old Lyme, Conn., before eventually being brought to a stop in the median.
The lawsuit says no other vehicles struck Brown's car, but Brown did say he was “violently thrown about the interior of the vehicle,” suffering orthopedic injuries requiring multiple surgeries and resulting in permanent disabilities. The lawsuit said Brown has suffered lower back pain, chronic pain to his right shoulder and right hip and intermittent lateral ankle pain.
|The verdict
In interrogatories, a six-person New London Superior Court jury answered a key question July 3, which sealed the verdict for the defense: “Was the subject wheel defective because it did not comply with design specifications or performance standard?”
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Robert Storace
Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at 203-437-5950.
