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Evenflo ordered to pay more than $10 million in car seat lawsuit MATT GOURAS Associated Press HELENA, Mont. - A jury on Thursday ordered Ohio-based car seat maker Evenflo Co. to pay $3.7 million in punitive damages to the parents of a 4-month-old Montana boy who died of head injuries in a car crash. The award came a day after the jury awarded $6.7 million in compensatory damages to Chad and Jessica Malcolm of Livingston. The company, based in Vandalia, said it would appeal the verdict to the Montana Supreme Court. "While Evenflo certainly agrees that it was a tragedy for the Malcolm family that their child died, we feel it was the result of an extraordinary car accident," said attorney Earl Gunn. "We do not believe that the product is defective." Evan Douthit, a lawyer for the Malcolms, said Tyler Malcolm was killed in the July 2000 car crash after striking his head on the car seat's hard plastic shell when the seat was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover crash south of Livingston. Douthit argued that Evenflo had considered and decided against lining the shell of the "On My Way" car seats with foam. The Douthit, Frets, Rouse, Gentile and Rhodes law firm based in Kansas City, Mo., said it was their third verdict against Evenflo. Evenflo Chief Executive Officer Rob Matteucci said in a statement that he disagrees with the verdict. "We are confident Evenflo will be exonerated of any liability on further consideration of the facts of the case and the proper application of the law," he said. "Protecting children is our core mission at Evenflo. Our products are designed and engineered with safety as the number one priority." He said all products receive extensive testing prior to being placed on the market. The "On My Way" seat was last sold in 2002, Matteucci said. trial. Judge Nels Swandal will now have to either affirm the punitive damages portion of the verdict or reduce it, said Clerk of Court June Little.
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