Montana jury awards $6.7 million in car seat suit

LIVINGSTON, Mont. – A jury on Wednesday ordered car seat maker Evenflo Co. to pay nearly $6.7 million to the parents of a 4-month-old Montana boy who died of head injuries in a July 2000 crash.

The 12-member district court jury deliberated for about four hours before deciding Evenflo should pay Chad and Jessica Malcolm $5.5 million for grief and mental anguish, $1.18 million for future economic losses for their son, Tyler, and nearly $16,500 for medical and funeral expenses.

Neither side could comment after Wednesday’s announcement because jurors were to consider punitive damages today.

During opening statements last month, an attorney for the Malcolms said Tyler was killed after striking his head on his car seat’s hard plastic shell after the seat was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover crash south of Livingston. Attorney Evan Douthit said Ohio-based Evenflo had considered and decided against lining the shell with foam.

“Evenflo knowingly and deliberately put profits over the safety of children when dealing with the design of this ‘On My Way’ seat,” Douthit said.

Evenflo attorney Earl Gunn argued the seat was safe and that Tyler suffered the head injury when the door next to him opened and his head struck the ground during the rollover.

A North Glastonbury man, Ned Harris, was convicted of negligent homicide in Tyler’s death and given a six-year deferred sentence, according to the state Department of Corrections Web site.

Prosecutors said Harris made a bad pass into oncoming traffic on U.S. 89, causing Jessica Malcolm to swerve to avoid Harris’ pickup, leading to the deadly crash.