Paralyzed Woman Settles Suit With Toyota Her Lawsuit Claimed 4runner’s Design Was To Blame In Roll-Over Accident

A Colorado woman paralyzed in a one-car roll-over accident west of Spokane has settled her $11.3 million lawsuit with Toyota Motor Corp.

Attorneys for Melinda Martens-Sagiao and Toyota refused Thursday to release the amount of the settlement.

The agreement was reached Wednesday, five days before a jury trial was scheduled to begin in U.S. District Court in Spokane.

The suit alleged the Toyota Motor Corp. is liable for design defects that make its sports utility vehicles prone to roll-over accidents.

Martens-Sagiao, 38, of Littleton, Colo., was a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force at the time of the March 6, 1995, accident on Interstate 90 in Lincoln County.

She was a passenger in an eastbound 1990 Toyota 4Runner driven by Air Force Sgt. Daniel Sloan. The two were en route to Fairchild Air Force Base for training, the suit says.

After passing a couple of slower-moving vehicles, Sloan’s vehicle drifted off the left shoulder of the divided highway.

When the driver turned right in an attempt to return to the roadway, the vehicle’s rear tire slid in gravel. The right tires left the ground, and the vehicle became airborne before rolling three or four times.

Both occupants were wearing seat belts, but there were no air bags in the vehicle.

Sloan escaped serious injury, but Martens-Sagiao was critically injured. She suffered a brain injury, and her spinal cord was damaged, leaving her paralyzed below the shoulders, the suit says.

The Washington State Patrol investigated the accident. A trooper’s report shows the accident occurred because the driver was either asleep or inattentive.

Sloan was not cited, State Patrol reports show.

The lawsuit said the 4Runner involved in the accident was equipped with 31-by-10.5 tires, which are the largest offered by Toyota.

“The larger tires specified by Toyota for this vehicle contributed to its instability,” the suit alleged.

Toyota has sold four generations of its popular 4Runner. “There were changes to the 1996 model year vehicle that had the effect of significantly increasing its resistance to roll-over,” the suit said.

Medical and nursing care bills for Martens-Sagiao totaled $748,759 through July 7, and her financial losses and medical rehabilitation expenses will exceed $10.5 million, court papers say.

, DataTimes