Auto fire -auto explosion-- alleged catastrophic injuries

Robert Tacher obtained a defense verdict on a claim of catastrophic injuries due to a car fire and explosion and alleged negligent repair by his client, a car dealership. The demand in the case was $26 Million.

The Plaintiff alleged that he took the car into the car dealership to have his car repaired for an alleged gas leak.

The Plaintiff alleged that after he received the car from the dealership, he still smelled gasoline coming from the car. He claimed that he and a security guard from his development jointly called the dealership regarding the smell of gas and were told that the car was safe to drive.

The next day, while driving the vehicle, the Plaintiff alleged that the car was running rough and when he pulled the car over to the side of the road, it caught fire and exploded. The dealership was sued for negligent repair of the vehicle and negligently telling the Plaintiff that it was safe to drive the vehicle.

Robert obtained the Plaintiff's cell phone records and was able to demonstrate to the jury that the phone records did not show any call to the dealership after the car was picked up, so the story about the dealership stating that the car was safe to drive was false. In addition, he ascertained through discovery that the Plaintiff had a can of gasoline in the trunk of his car and it could not be ruled out that the gasoline was a possible cause of the car explosion.

After a one week trial, the jury was out 45 minutes and came back with a defense verdict.