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Show : Whitehead wins $1.6 judgement J A former Pleasant Grove man left 8 paraplegic by an auto accident in 1979 has been awarded a $1 .6 million judgment in a lawsuit concluded before Fourth District Judge J. 5! Robert Bullock. Steven Whitehead, 30, filed the suit against Larry Anderson, driver of the vehicle which struck the car in which he was a passenger; ' Variable Annuity Life Insurance t Company, Anderson's employer; f, and American Motors Sales Cor poration, Jeep Corporation. Whitehead, a former college athlete who was once fourth in the nation in decathlon, charged that the design and manufacture of the jeep in which he was riding was defective, causing it to roll over after it was struck from the rear. Whitehead was pinned in the vehicle and suffered a broken back. Whitehead's wife was driving the jeep at the time of the accident, Oct. 16, 1979 on the freeway near 1600 North in Provo. A jury of two men and six women heard the three-week trial, and assigned 70 percent of the damage to American Motors Sale Corporation, Cor-poration, Jeep Corporation, and 30 percent to Anderson. Judge Bullock ruled as a matter of law during the trial that Anderson was working within the scope of his employment with the insurance company at the time of the accident. The verdict awarded Whitehead $127,125 in special damages and $1,511,000 in general damages, for a total of $1,638,125. Jackson Howard and Richard Johnson were attorneys for the plaintiff, while Glen Hanni represented Anderson; Dave Epperson, Ep-person, the insurance company, and Jay Jensen, American Motors Sales Corp. and Jeep Corp. |