— Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, and the driver of a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse have been sued over the death of Massachusetts driver Jose Casiano who was driving a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Filed by his wife, Michelle Bedard, the lawsuit alleges the crash and the death of Jose Casiano would not have occurred if the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chevy Traverse would not have been defective.
On June 22, 2023, Jose Casiano was driving the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 2:00 p.m. on Route 24 in Berkley, Massachusetts. Moving in stop-and-go traffic and wearing his seat belt, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was hit from behind by a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse driven by Alexandra Borges.
The lawsuit doesn't provide details such as the speed of the Chevy Traverse, but the rear-end crash allegedly caused Casiano's seat to collapse backward where it hit the rear seats in the Grand Cherokee.
According to the wrongful death lawsuit, the Jeep's airbag failed to deploy and the rear seats didn't absorb the energy from the crash which killed Mr. Casiano.
The plaintiff complains the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee was defectively designed and was defective when it was first sold. However, the lawsuit also claims the Chevrolet Traverse, which hit the Grand Cherokee, was also defective.
The lawsuit asserts the 2016 Chevy Traverse was "defective and unreasonably dangerous" because it wasn't equipped with certain driver-assist systems which were not required in the 2016 model.
Plaintiff Michelle Bedard blames GM for her husband's death because the Traverse didn't have an automatic emergency braking system or a forward collision alert system.
The plaintiff complains all Chevy Traverse vehicles should have been equipped with those features, and without those features all Traverse vehicles are defective.
According to the plaintiff:
"GM knew or should have known of the defective and unreasonably dangerous nature and condition of the subject vehicle and/or its component parts including but not limited to the failure to install a working emergency braking system."
In addition, the lawsuit names Traverse driver Alexandra Borges as a defendant.
The Jose Casiano wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the Plymouth County Massachusetts Superior Court: Michelle Bedard v. FCA US, LLC, et al.