JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jurors ended a decade-long product liability case by siding against Suzuki Motor Corp. and awarding a paralyzed Jacksonville man a $20 million verdict, according to his Morgan & Morgan attorneys.
Scott Winckler sustained the injuries in a 2013 crash with another vehicle while driving a Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle that had a defective braking system, the court determined.
Suzuki Motor Corp. knew there were defects in the front brake master cylinder as early as 2007 when a problem was discovered on a vehicle in Germany, Morgan & Morgan said. In 2012, there was another crash where a rider lost control due to loss of front brake pressure, and Suzuki redesigned the system for all future models.
They did not issue a recall until October 2013 because they were waiting to receive parts to replace the faulty systems, according to the law firm. That was four months after Winckler’s crash. He suffered severe and permanent injuries, including paralysis from the waist down.
On Wednesday, the jury awarded him the full amount of his past medical expenses, as well as damages for future medical expenses and pain and suffering.
“Before the crash, Mr. Winckler was an active, independent person and an avid motorcycle enthusiast," his attorneys said. "He had a career working as a motorcycle mechanic and was a safe and experienced rider. Now he will never walk again, let alone ride. ... Mr. Winckler has been fighting for justice for over 10 years, during which Suzuki relentlessly tried to blame him for his injuries."
Winckler is now 46.
The Times-Union sent emails early Friday afternoon to five attorneys at three law firms representing Suzuki requesting comment and had not heard back as of late evening.
Monday one of the attorneys, Rick Mueller, provided this statement: "A jury previously determined that Mr. Winckler's incident was not caused by a defectively designed or manufactured brake system. Suzuki is now in the process of post-trial motions and appealing the recent verdict to obtain a complete reversal. Suzuki believes in and stands by all of its products."
In early filings by Suzuki's attorneys in 2014 and 2015, their motions stated the corporation was not the manufacturer, designer, distributor, seller or warrantor of that specific 2007 GSX-R1000 that crashed.
The wholesale distributor of that particular motorcycle was dissolved in a bankruptcy proceeding before the accident. Suzuki purchased assets and business operations from the distributor "but specifically did not assume product liability or any responsibility for this personal injury lawsuit," one of the motions states.