Court rejected argument of failure in manual, but accepts complaint of manufacturing defect in Tiguan heating system
Volkswagen will face a trial in federal court after a customer suffered second-degree burns caused by the seat heating system of a 2023 Tiguan. The lawsuit, which is being processed in the court of Tacoma (Washington state), where the plaintiff, Emily LaPrade, reported having used the resource at maximum level for about 30 minutes and then at medium intensity for another hour, noticing the serious skin lesions only when she returned home.
Paralyzed from the waist down since an automobile accident in 2014, LaPrade has no thermal or pain sensitivity below the T10 vertebra. According to the lawsuit records, the lack of sensory perception prevented her from noticing the excessive heat of the seat in time to avoid injuries.
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In its defense, the German automaker maintained that the vehicle has no defects and emphasized that the owner’s manual has explicit warnings about the accessory. The text expressly advises that individuals with reduced sensitivity – due to paralysis or the use of medication – should not activate the function at the risk of suffering injuries.
Because the plaintiff and her husband admitted in testimony that they never read the vehicle’s instructions, Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright rejected the claim of miscommunication on the part of the manufacturer.
On the other hand, the magistrate validated the thesis of “design defect” for the dispute to proceed to trial. The accusation is based on the opinion of an expert engineer, whose tests indicated that the system leaves the factory programmed to reach excessive temperatures, capable of injuring any occupant on longer journeys.
The case will now focus on determining whether the SUV’s hardware has a chronic engineering flaw or whether the model’s default thermal threshold poses risks to users’ physical integrity.
