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Czarnecki v. Volkswagen of America12/31/1991
Plaintiff-appellant Thomas Czarnecki appeals from a jury verdict in favor of Volkswagen of America (VW) in his suit to recover for the paraplegia he sustained in an automobile collision. We address the following issues in this appeal:
(1) Did the trial court err in failing to instruct the jury on apportionment of damages?
(2) Did the court err in its instructions on the "misuse" defense and the definition of "reasonably foreseeable use"?
(3) Did the court err in failing to give the RAJI hindsight and consumer expectation instructions?
(4) Did the court err in its ruling on Czarnecki's motion to amend and VW's motion in limine regarding Czarnecki's alleged defect of "lack of a shoulder belt"?
FACTS
On the evening of August 31, 1985, Czarnecki was riding in the back seat of a 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit hatchback owned and driven by Jeffrey Clark. Czarnecki's lap seat belt was fastened. Clark was driving east on Shea Boulevard in the right hand lane when he lost control. The Rabbit hit the south curb and then veered north across Shea, crossing over a median separating Shea from a parallel access road and eventually crashing into a parked van.
Clark and the front-seat passenger were not significantly injured in the collision. Czarnecki, however, suffered a flexion-compression fracture of the vertebra at the L2 level. A portion of the back end of the L2 vertebral body was forced backwards into the spinal canal, mashing the nerves and causing Czarnecki to be paralyzed.
The cause of Czarnecki's paraplegia was the primary issue at trial. Czarnecki's experts opined that there were two separate impacts. Upon the first impact between the Rabbit and the van, according to Czarnecki, he flexed over his seat belt, sustaining a neurologically benign "Chance" fracture from which he would have recovered without paralysis. However, Czarnecki also asserted that, after the first impact, a spare tire that had been left loose in the hatchback portion of the Rabbit struck the lower portion of the Rabbit's rear seat back, causing it to swing forward and strike his buttocks. Czarnecki argued that the force generated by this second impact from the allegedly defective seat back resulted in the burst fracture that intruded into the spinal canal and caused his paraplegia.
Czarnecki did not seek recovery from VW for any damages in connection with the injuries sustained during the first impact, including those resulting from his alleged Chance fracture. However, he asserted at trial that VW should be strictly liable for the paraplegia sustained in the second impact because its defective design of the Rabbit's rear seat back assembly allowed it to come loose. VW defended by arguing that Czarnecki did not suffer a Chance fracture at all; rather, VW contended that Czarnecki was thrown around the lap belt in the first impact, causing the compression, burst fracture, and resulting paraplegia. According to VW, the seat back never struck Czarnecki and thus could not have caused him any injury .
The jury returned a verdict in favor of VW. Czarnecki appeals from the verdict and from the denial of his motion for new trial.
Discussion
A. Proposed Jury Instructions on Apportionment of Damages
The jury was instructed that:
In order to recover against Volkswagen, the plaintiff has the burden of proving each of the following:
(1) The rear seatback assembly of the 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit sedan was defectively designed;
(2) The defective design rendered the Volkswagen Rabbit sedan unreasonab
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