Man awarded $1.9 million after part of his thumb was chopped off by ‘soft close’ BMW door
A man will receive a hefty sum after part of his thumb was severed off in a BMW 'soft close' door.
A jury has awarded Godwin Boateng, from Long Island, $1.9 million in damages after his ordeal, as a court recognized his 'life-changing' amputation.
In 2016, the software engineer had part of his right thumb sliced off when it was closed in the motorized 'soft close' BMW X5 car he owned.
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After his thumb was trapped in the vehicle door, Boateng rushed to hospital in the hope that medics could do something but unfortunately it was already too late.
Speaking about the incident, he told The New York Post in 2018: "The doctor came in and looked at it and said, ‘I’m sorry.’
"He said he couldn’t. The way it got severed, it couldn’t be saved."
Now eight years later Boateng has finally been awarded damages after previously holding out and rejecting earlier offers for a settlement from the car manufacturer.
His lawyer, Avi Cohen, spoke after the verdict as told the New York Post: "We’re very happy with the award."
The court heard how after losing part of his thumb, Boateng's life changed hugely as he could no longer do the things he enjoyed as well as many basic tasks.
Previously a tennis fan, Boateng was forced to give up his weekly games as well as now struggling to use utensils and even write.
Cohen explained that Boateng 'has a loss of daily function', and even struggles to type on a keyboard despite the incident happening almost a decade ago.
Boateng, now 68, has also had several surgeries since the incident but he still feels pain in the remainder of the digit that he has left, and has taken to sometimes using a fake prosthetic that he got in a $3 magician kit.
According to evidence presented at trial, Boateng isn't alone as BMW has admitted in a 2016 investigation that there were 44 incidents of injuries with its soft close doors around the world.
In Boateng's case, the jury didn't find BMW guilty of three other claims, including that the door had a dangerous design.
They dismissed claims from BMW's legal team that Boateng was partially responsible for his own injury, but instead placed the blame solely on the car company.
BMW lawyer Phil Dilanni told press after the verdict that the car company will be looking to appeal 'if necessary'.
He explained that the company 'stands by our products and refutes any suggestion that the vehicle in question was to blame for Mr. Boateng’s injury'.
UNILAD has contacted BMW for further comment.
Niamh Spence