Minnesota Supreme Court Validates Boy's Personal Injury Lawsuit against His Parents
The Boy's Parents Supported the Lawsuit to Get a Refusing Insurance Company to Pay a $100,000 Claim!
On Thursday, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a boy who suffered brain injuries as a toddler during an SUV car accident can file a personal injury lawsuit against his parents for improperly installing and maintaining his car seat. Now nine years old, Teddy Harrison suffered a serious brain injury that left him permanently disabled six years ago when he flew from his mother's SUV during an accident caused by an uninsured driver. A Pioneer Press story detailed how Harrison initially sued the car seat manufacturer Century Products Co. on the claim that the seat was defective since its buckle could click as locked while having a penny lodged in it. Century Products Co. claimed that the boy should have sued his parents in part for failing to install and maintain the seat. After reaching a confidential settlement with the company, the boy filed suit against his parents, whom fully supported the legal action in an effort to get Progressive insurance company to pay for a $100,000 claim.
It turns out that Progressive refused to pay the insurance claim for the boy's injuries and cited a 1963 "gag rule" barring evidence about the lack of use of seat belts and child-restraint seats in personal injury cases. Progressive told the family that it would pay for the claim if the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Teddy, and now must do so after yesterday's decision. Teddy Harrison's personal injury attorney Robert King expressed satisfaction with the decision and reaffirmed that the lawsuit was not about a boy suing his parents but rather making an insurance company do the right thing.
Congratulations to King and the Harrison Family for not backing down to Progressive, which once again showed how insurance companies operate with their bottom lines ahead of everything else during personal injury cases.