After less than four hours of deliberation, a jury of seven men and five women placed blame for the accident that killed Jenny Singley squarely on the shoulders of Rogerson when it ruled that there was not a design defect in the seat belt of Mrs. Singley’s Saturn L300.
While the ruling is good news for seat belt manufacturer TRW, it adds to the troubles of Rogerson, 22, who has a sentencing hearing scheduled next week for a manslaughter conviction related to the accident.
In addition to his legal troubles, Rogerson now has a $2.13 million debt based on the settlement the jury awarded to the Singleys.
“Will has always maintained that he was responsible for the accident. He has always lived up to that responsibility,” said Scott Seelhoff, Rogerson’s attorney. “He is not a bad fellow. He certainly didn’t mean to do any harm. He is now faced with a large verdict. I would hope the (criminal) court takes that into consideration (during sentencing).”
Collecting on the settlement may be difficult. Rogerson said he is employed spraying insulation into newly constructed houses.
“He has some insurance but obviously there is going to be an issue with collecting on the full damages,” said Jeff Meyerson, who represented the Singleys.
Meyerson said the Singley family was at peace with the decision.
“They are such good people,” he said. “They are satisfied and feel they got a fair trial.”
One of the key pieces of evidence in the case turned out to be a broken femur Mrs. Singley suffered in the crash. Meyerson said jurors expressed to him that the way the bone broke indicated there must have been significant side impact during the crash.
An accident reconstructionist testified early in the trial that the side impact between Mrs. Singley’s car and Rogerson’s truck was more of a slap and that the initial impact had slowed the vehicles down significantly.
Meyerson expressed disappointment at the judgment but also expressed gratitude for the legal system.
“We’re really happy to have been able to be a part of it,” he said. “It’s the justice system at work. People have to accept judgments at some point and move on.”
TRW attorneys did not respond to a phone message asking for comment on the case.
