— BMW has been denied a new trial in a case which saw a jury award a vehicle owner $1.9 million after the owner left his thumb in the path of the door which amputated the tip of his thumb.
The lawsuit was filed over the alleged dangers of BMW soft-close doors.
"In tight parking spaces or whenever a gentle closing of the door is appreciated, soft close automatic provides a helping hand: simply push the door until it is almost closed. When the door is within approximately 6 mm of the lock, a sensor activates an electric motor that pulls the door firmly and quietly closed and secures it. The components of the door locks are automatically returned to their original position." — BMW
Plaintiff Godwin Boateng says he was exiting his 2013 BMW X5 xDrive35i Sport in July 2016 with his right hand rested on the driver’s door column, his back facing the vehicle and with the door about one foot open.
According to the lawsuit, the soft-close automatic door sensor activated the electric motor to close the door on the tip of his thumb.
Surgeons were unable to reattach the tip of his thumb.
The plaintiff contacted BMW about his "grave injuries" and the automaker "masqueraded their complaint puppet responder, Jay Hanson" to arrange for the vehicle to be inspected on August 22, 2016.
The plaintiff claims BMW conceals the dangers of the soft-close doors and people only learn about the dangers when they leave their fingers in the pathways of the closing doors.
BMW could find nothing defective about the vehicle or soft-close door and the lawsuit says the automaker denied responsibility for the plaintiff losing the tip of his thumb.
According to the plaintiff, BMW continues "to disperse and scatter their minions to deal with similar complaints" regarding the soft-close automatic doors.
The self-employed software engineer claims losing the tip of his thumb cost him $250,000 per year in income, and eventually will cost him about $3 million in lost wages.
BMW said the plaintiff admitted it was "an accident, so my finger got in there and it just automatically closed over it."
The automaker also referenced the owner's manual which includes warnings about the soft-close doors and argued the plaintiff has “understood since childhood, not to put a finger or body part in between a door and its door frame while it is closing.”
BMW Soft-Close Door Jury Verdict
The trial saw the jury award the plaintiff $1,905,360 in damages for losing the tip of his thumb, but the jury did not find the BMW door was defective.
However, the jury still said BMW was 100% responsible for the plaintiff losing the tip of his thumb, with no blame placed on the owner who lost the tip of his thumb.
BMW argued it deserved a new trial considering the jury determined there were no defects.
BMW also argued the jury did not find it liable for a design defect, failure to warn or breach of implied warranty/Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims.
However, the judge ruled she could find nothing wrong with the jury verdict and determined BMW is not entitled to a new trial. In addition, Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto concluded the jury's $1.9 million verdict was not excessive.
In a separate BMW soft-close door lawsuit, a judge ruled humans have been slamming their fingers in doors since doors were invented and the doors on BMW's vehicles are no exception. The judge dismissed that lawsuit.
The BMW soft-close automatic door lawsuit was filed in the the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York - Godwin Boateng v. BMW of North America, LLC, et al.
The plaintiff is represented by the A. Cohen Law Firm, PC.