Jury Awards $150 million against Chrysler for Death of 4 Year Old

Jury Awards $150 million against Chrysler for Death of 4 Year Old Boy Due to Dangerous Rear-mounted Gas Tanks in Jeep Grand Cherokee

In Georgia, a jury awarded $150 million to a family of a four year old boy killed when a Jeep Grand Cherokee went up in flames after a rear-end collision because of poor design and placement of the vehicle’s gas tank.

In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommended Chrysler repair 2.7 million Jeeps after a finding of increased dangers posed by rear-mounted gas tanks. The agency linked at least 37 crashes resulting in 51 deaths to rear-mounted gas tanks. According to NHTSA, rear-mounted gas tanks pose a greater risk for punctures and fires because there is less reinforcing material around the gas tank to protect it from exploding after crash impacts.

Later, the agency readjusted the number of vehicles Chrysler had to recall due to the gas tank placement to only 1.56 million vehicles. Chrysler agreed to fix the Jeeps by reinforcing the rear-mounted gas tanks with a trailer hitch to absorb more of the crash impact. Such recall and repairs are hoped to be completed by March 2016.

The Jeep models affected by the recall are the Jeep Liberty (2002-2007 models) and Jeep Grand Cherokees (1993-1998 models).

To confirm if your vehicle is part of this recall, go to www.safercar.gov and use the NHTSA’s free VIN look up tool.