Thursday, May 8, 2003
Jury sides with crash victim.
Injured teen's family awarded $8.3 million
A Johnson County jury on Wednesday awarded $8.3 million to the family of a teen-ager injured in a tire-failure accident three years ago on Interstate 35.
The jury found against Kansas East Youth Services Inc., or KEYS, a private, nonprofit group that owned and operated the vehicle in which Cory Pronold was a passenger.
Pronold's family earlier reached a confidential settlement with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., the maker of the tire.
The jury's damage award included $2 million for pain and suffering. Because Kansas caps such awards at $250,000 — and because the jury found KEYS only 27 percent at fault — the total against KEYS amounted to just under $2 million.
The jury found Bridgestone/Firestone 73 percent responsible. The jury, however, was not made aware of the family's settlement with the company.
"The Pronold family is pleased that the jury listened to the evidence and made an award that will help take care of Cory's future," said Pronold's attorney, Steve Six of Shamberg Johnson & Bergman.
The youth organization's attorney, Kathleen Hardee of Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, said the group was considering an appeal.
The organization operates homes for troubled youths under contract with the state.
Pronold, now 16, was one of five teen-age boys riding in a 1991 Mazda minivan on Aug. 12, 2000, when the tread of the right rear tire separated. The minivan spun into the median and rolled over several times.
Pronald suffered severe head injuries, including blindness in one eye, hearing loss and partial facial paralysis. The driver and the other boys suffered moderate injuries.
Just three days earlier, Bridgestone/Firestone announced a recall of 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires after receiving reports that some tires had suddenly failed. Federal investigators later documented several hundred deaths from accidents involving the tires.
The minivan had FR410 radial tires.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Section B, Page1
by Dan Margolies
