Opinion ID: 428630
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defect and Causation

Text: 7 AMC initially argues that, for various reasons, McLeod's evidence was insufficient to support the jury's findings that the seat track assembly was defective and that such defect proximately caused McLeod's injuries. Although it also contends that expert witnesses for McLeod were improperly allowed to base their testimony upon factually unsupported premises, AMC's primary argument is that McLeod's failure to produce opinion testimony from any expert that the alleged defect caused her injuries required the trial court to direct a verdict in its favor. 8 While it is true that the district court did not permit McLeod's experts to opine that the defective seat track assembly was the cause of her injuries, the absence of such testimony is not fatal to McLeod's case. Under Florida law, the question of proximate cause, being factual in nature, must be submitted to the jury. Evancho v. Thiel, 297 So.2d 40 (Fla.App.1974), aff'd, 327 So.2d 201 (Fla.1976); Noonan v. Buick Co., 211 So.2d 54 (Fla.App.1968). McLeod, of course, was obliged to present evidence from which the jury could reasonably conclude that the assembly was defective and that the defect was a proximate cause of her injuries. This she did. 9 McLeod's experts testified that the seat track was separated from the floor pan of the Pacer, that the seat back was twisted, and that a bolt fragment was lodged in the broken seat track. One expert, after opining that the bolt had failed due to fatigue and/or improper fastening, explained that the seat track separation probably resulted from the forces exerted by the Great Dane's striking the back of McLeod's seat. Another expert testified that, given the bolt failure, alternative designs would have better prevented separation of the seat track assembly. Clearly, ample evidence supported the jury's finding of defect. 10 In a similar fashion, McLeod's evidence sufficed to establish that the defective seat was a proximate cause of her injuries. Photographs taken immediately after the accident illustrated McLeod's theory that the seat, having broken from its track, pushed her forward and upward into the steering column and windshield. In addition, the first police officer to arrive at the site of the accident testified that he found McLeod pinned against the steering column and windshield. Expert witness testimony also supported McLeod's theory that the force of the 120-pound Great Dane in conjunction with the force of the 50-pound seat caused her to be thrown forward and upward into the front of the Pacer. From this evidence, together with the testimony concerning the defective seat, the jury could reasonably conclude that AMC's negligence was a proximate cause of McLeod's injuries.