A daughter is suing Sprint Nextel and Samsung in Oklahoma District Court on behalf of her mother’s estate, for failing to adequately warn consumers that driving while talking on a cell phone can cause fatal collisions.
Fatal Collision
On September 3, 2008, then 61 year-old, Linda Doyle, was fatally hit by 20 year-old Christopher Hill. Mr. Hill admitted that talking on his Samsung cell phone was distracting, causing him to run a red light at 45 m.p.h. and strike Ms. Doyle.
Sprint Nextel claims it provided adequate product use warnings in the cell phone manual and packaging, but Mr. Hill states that he never saw them.
Defenses to Liability
In a similar lawsuit in Indiana, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against Cingular, citing no valid claim of negligence due to the unforeseeability of the accident and the absence of a legal duty owed to the woman by the cell phone service provider. Moreover, the court stated that collisions are caused by driver inattention, not by cell phones themselves and that drivers often talk on phones without causing collisions.
Products liability defense attorneys argue that cell phone consumers are aware of the risks, and assume the risk when talking and driving.
Similar Issues to Tobacco Industry’s Liability
The Oklahoma case is the first of its kind where someone other than the direct consumer of the cell phone is suing for a personal injury claim. The issues surrounding cell phone carrier liability are similar to those lawsuits involving smokers with health ailments and the tobacco industry, in that the victim is not the direct consumer of the product. While cigarette consumers have successfully sued Philip Morris, among other big cigarette manufacturers, such victories are rare for victims of prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke.
The distinguishing element between the cases is whether a legal duty exists: does the tobacco industry owe all members of society a duty to adequately warn it of the health risks associated with breathing secondhand smoke? The answer was strongly positive in a 1997 Florida class action involving 60,000 flight attendants. The case settled when the tobacco companies agreed to pay $300 million to study tobacco-related diseases through the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute.
The Oklahoma court will have to decide whether a Sprint and Samsung owed Ms. Doyle a legal duty to adequately warn Mr. Hill the risk of driving while talking on his cell phone.
If the court establishes a legal duty, we will see an increase in lawsuits against cell phone manufacturers and service providers. This wave of litigation will continue, safeguarding society, until the federal legislature passes a law that effectively regulates the use of cell phones in cars.
Pass A New Law
A change in legislation is apparently long overdue. Earlier this year it was discovered that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concealed from the public a 2002 study that led to the following agency conclusion: “the reality is, drivers’ performance can be compromised regardless of whether the device is hand-held or hands- free. Consequently, we recommend that drivers not use a cell phone while driving.” (emphasis added).
Cell Phone Industry’s Early Promotion of The Car Phone
The argument that a cell phone company owes some third-party a legal duty is supported by the above and the decades of advertisements the industry has used to promote using the phone while operating a vehicle. Since the mid-80s cellphone manufacturers and carriers have widely promoted the convenience of having a car phone. Such widespread advertising should have created a constructive knowledge, awareness and foreseeability that consumers will drive while talking, which in a world with more congestion every day, will inevitably lead to driver distraction and collisions.
Evolving Law
Only time will tell how the courts will decide cell phone manufacturer and provider tort liability. If you have been injured by someone distracted by a cell phone, call The Filutowski Law Firm for a free consultation about your legal options.
Ms. Filutowski has a track record of recovering over $3.5 million dollars for her clients through negotiations, arbitrations, mediations and trial.
