Trull v. Volkswagen of America, Inc.
New Hampshire Supreme Court
761 A.2d 477 (2000)
The Trulls (plaintiffs) alleged Volkswagen's (defendant) Vanagon lacked adequate frontal-impact protection and shoulder belts on its rear bench seat, contributing to severe injuries and a death in a collision, and sought certification on which party bears the burden of segregating collision-caused injuries from defect-enhanced injuries after a jury verdict for Volkswagen.
Whether, under the New Hampshire crashworthiness doctrine, once a plaintiff successfully proves that a vehicle's design defect was a substantial factor in producing injuries over and above those which were likely to result from a vehicle collision, the burden then shifts to the automobile manufacturer to show which of plaintiff's injuries were attributable to the defect and which to the collision.