Craig Tudor, et al. v. General Motors LLC

Summary

In this rollover crash trial, plaintiff Craig Tudor suffered a broken neck after his police vehicle was struck by a driver and flipped. The roof of the car was crushed upon impact.

Tudor claims that this accident resulted from the poorly designed roof of the vehicle. The car, a 2012 Chevrolet Impala, is alleged to have the same structural issues as previous models of police Impalas. General Motors was aware of these issues, yet did not appropriately fix the root causes of the weak roofs, leading to Tudor being paralyzed from the chest down.

Defendant General Motors alleges that the roof passed safety standards. Their representatives state that the crash was so severe that any mass-produced roof would have suffered severe damage. They attribute Tudor's broken neck to a 'diving injury,' where the driver of a vehicle strikes the inside of a car's roof.

Outcome

Settled

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Tudor, Craig
Defense: General Motors Corporation

Judge: John Borbonus
Jurisdiction: 21st Judicial Circuit of Missouri
Court: St. Louis County Court Building

Case Number: 19SL-CC00951
Industry
Practice Area

Plaintiff

Tudor, Craig

Defense

General Motors Corporation

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Openings

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:09:09	Opening Statement	Davis, Grant
01:24:06	Break
01:44:01	Opening Statement	Gunn, Amy
02:17:37	Opening Statement	Bethune, Scott
02:26:32	General Case Activities
02:27:46	End of Session

PM Session

Openings

8 Chapters

MAY

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Shumate, Wes	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
00:59:45	Break
01:18:43	Witness Direct Examination	Smith, Brian	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
02:54:48	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Smith, Brian	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
00:46:22	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Shumate, Wes	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
01:25:02	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Smith, Brian	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
01:36:14	Break
01:59:25	Witness Direct Examination	Shumate, Wes	Joyce, Officer Kyle	In Person
02:34:07	Witness Cross Examination	Smith, Brian	Joyce, Officer Kyle	In Person
02:39:00	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Shumate, Wes	Joyce, Officer Kyle	In Person
02:43:07	Break
02:55:06	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Grant	Herbst, Brian	In Person
03:16:16	End of Session

MAY

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Grant	Sieve, Sgt. James	In Person
00:57:27	Witness Cross Examination	Smith, James	Sieve, Sgt. James	In Person
00:58:47	Break
00:59:14	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Grant	Herbst, Brian	In Person
01:15:47	Break
01:32:49	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Grant	Herbst, Brian	In Person
02:39:14	Break
02:54:36	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Grant	Herbst, Brian	In Person
03:44:59	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Grant	Herbst, Brian	In Person
		00:33:00	End of Session

MAY

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Craig Tudor, et al. v. General Motors LLC

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Opening Statement	Cooney, Michael
01:24:33	Break
01:43:02	General Case Activities	Bethune, Scott
01:46:32	Witness Direct Examination		Melocchi, Athony	Video Recording
01:52:05	Witness Direct Examination	Shumate, Wes	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
03:13:10	Break
03:31:08	Witness Direct Examination	Shumate, Wes	Christoffersen, Steven P.E.	In Person
04:04:15	End of Session