A lawsuit against Volkswagen is moving forward after a woman claimed the seat heater in her 2023 VW Tiguan caused second-degree burns on her buttocks. The plaintiff, Emily LaPrade, who has been paralyzed since 2014, alleges that she suffered injury from the seat heater due to a design defect.
A judge has ruled that the lawsuit will proceed to trial, despite dismissing claims that Volkswagen failed to provide adequate warnings or instructions about the seat heater. LaPrade's husband's loss of consortium claim was also dismissed.
View Price on AmazonLaPrade, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a 2014 car accident, claims she has limited sensation below her T10 vertebra. She says she has been vigilant about protecting her lower body, aware that she could suffer serious injuries like burns or cuts without noticing.
According to the lawsuit, LaPrade turned the seat heater on the highest setting for about 30 minutes, then lowered it to the medium setting and left it there for about an hour. When she got home, she reportedly found a blister on her buttocks, which began to peel the next morning.
LaPrade claims that she used the seat heater on the highest setting in the past but never suffered any injury. However, she alleged that VW did not adequately warn about the potential for injury related to the seat heater.
Source: roadandtrack.com
