Jury deliberates $164 million lawsuit against Audi

Suit filed by family of 7-year-old child injured in 2012 traffic crash

SAN ANTONIO – Lawyers for the family of Jesse Rivera Jr., 10, claim that the driver’s seat in the family’s Audi sedan was defective causing serious injury to the child in a December 12, 2012 traffic crash.

The child, who was 7 years old at the time, suffered massive head injuries when his head collided with his father’s head during the crash. Jesse Rivera was driving his son to school that day when he stopped for a school bus flashing its red lights. That is when the car was struck from behind by a car driven by Gloria Cordova.

The impact of the crash, Rivera’s attorney Fidel Rodriguez told the jury during closing argument, forced the father’s head to the rear where it collided with the child’s head. The child was seated in the back seat directly behind his father.

The lawsuit alleges that the driver’s seat was defective in design and manufacture.

The auto maker’s lawyers argued that seat met industry standards.

And they suggested that Cordova is responsible since she allegedly caused the crash. They also said that whether the child was properly restrained was never established.

The lawsuit seeks $164 million in damages.


About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.