A New York man has been awarded $1.9 million from BMW after a court found the automaker liable for a “deceptive omission” regarding the safety of its soft-close car doors, which amputated part of his thumb.
The ruling highlighted BMW’s failure to warn customers about the risk of placing a hand in the door’s path. Crucially, the court noted these doors lacked obstruction sensors, a feature common in car windows.
A jury last year awarded Godwin Boateng $800,000 for past pain and suffering, $850,000 for future pain and suffering, and approximately $255,000 for lost wages.
BMW appealed the decision multiple times, but all attempts to overturn the verdict failed. The final appeal also upheld the original finding, refusing to reopen the case.
The injury occurred in July 2016 when Boateng, a New York resident, had his hand resting on the door pillar of his 2013 BMW X5 xDrive35i Sport. The door was open about 12 inches when its soft-close mechanism activated, severing the tip of his right thumb.
BMW had inspected the vehicle and initially concluded there were no defects in the soft-close mechanism. The company refused to accept responsibility for the injury.
Boateng subsequently sued the German manufacturer. He argued that the soft-close doors were dangerous precisely because they did not utilize sensors to detect obstructions, unlike a vehicle’s side windows.
BMW’s defense contended that individuals should inherently know not to place their hand in the trajectory of a closing door. Boateng had claimed he could lose up to $3 million in wages due to the injury.