Vermont Quadriplegic Sues Volkswagen

January 20, 2009

A Vermont man paralyzed in a 2002 accident is suing Volkswagen AG, saying the Jetta he was riding in wasn't "crash worthy.''

Twenty-nine-year-old Owen Milne's product liability suit goes to trial Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

It says the Jetta had faulty roofs and seat-belt systems that made it unsafe.

Milne, of South Burlington, was left a quadriplegic in the crash, which occurred when his fiancee's 1999 Jetta flipped after another vehicle swerved in front of it, collapsing the roof.

Volkswagen says the Jetta was perfectly safe. The German carmaker denies wrongdoing and blames the drivers of the cars for playing "cat and mouse'' in traffic before the crash.