Civil Litigation
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D
26 Fla. L. Weekly S772 (Fla. Nov. 21, 2001)
The Florida Supreme Court held that principles of comparative fault with regard to apportionment as to the cause of the underlying crash would not ordinarily apply in crash worthiness or enhanced injury cases. Because a manufacturer alleged to be responsible for a defective product that resulted in a second accident and injury ordinarily may not be held liable for the injuries caused by the initial accident, the fault of the manufacturer may not be compared or apportioned with the fault of the driver of the vehicle who allegedly caused the initial crash.
When appropriate, the defendant manufacturer in a crash worthiness case should be entitled to have the jury instructed that no claim is being made for damages arising out of the initial accident and that the manufacturer should not be held liable for damages caused by the initial condition. Such an instruction would help insure that defendants are not held responsible for damages caused by other factors.
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