A Texas woman was awarded $37.6million by a jury after she sued Honda for their seat belt system that left her paralyzed after a 2015 car crash
Sarah Milburn, 27, sued the automaker for its seat belt design after an Uber she was riding in ran a red light in Dallas
The Honda Odyssey she was riding in was struck broadside by a pickup truck and sent Milburn's vehicle rolling over onto its side
'Probably the worst ride of my life,' Milburn explained to NBC New York. 'I believe I was put in this (wheel) chair for a reason; to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone ever again
' Share this article Share According to the woman's lawyer, Jim Mitchell, Milburn suffered a broken neck and is now a quadriplegic
The lawyer also blasted the set belts of the Honda Odyssey as being poorly designed
The design for the minivan's third row consists of a two-part system that the lawyer claimed multiple people would struggle with
That section of the vehicle is where Milburn had been sitting. 'Specifically, the seat belt is a two-part system requiring the user to grasp a detachable shoulder strap from the van's ceiling, anchor it to the seat and then pull the belt across the user's hips and buckle it,' Mitchell said in a statement on Thursday
'In independent testing, an expert showed the jury that fewer than 10 percent of people who were unfamiliar with the van's two-part seat belt system were able to use it properly
'. They also determined that 'wearing it that way was actually more dangerous than having no seat belt at all' 'What Honda said is, we met all federal regulations, and guess what? They did,' said Charla Aldous, another lawyer representing Milburn
But this jury found that those federal regulations were not sufficient.' Honda released a statement on Friday stating that Milburn failed to wear the seat belt properly and that their design meets federal standards
'Honda is disappointed with the verdict in Milburn v. AHM and intends to vigorously appeal
The design of the seat belt system for the middle passenger in the third row seat in the 2011 Odyssey complies with all applicable federal safety standards and is similar in design to virtually all comparable minivans of this vintage
If it had been worn properly in this crash, the plaintiff would have suffered no serious injuries,' the company said
Milburn's family hopes that the case will help in establishing the creation of 'Sarah's Law
' The law would force automakers to change their seat belt systems if they use that type of design
'We will change the seat belt system, ' said Aldous. 'This needs to be outlawed!'Milburn added: 'It's not about the money for me
It's about the fact that, you know, this could have been someone else. It could have been a child and they probably wouldn't have come out as lucky
I'm in a chair, but I can still talk. I can still move my arms. I can still smile, so I have to be thankful for what I have every day
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