Daimler loses wrongful-death verdict in L.A.

DaimlerChrysler has lost a $55.2-million verdict in a lawsuit filed by the family of a San Pedro longshoreman who was run over and killed by his 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup after he exited the truck.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury Wednesday awarded $5.2 million in compensatory damages for wrongful death and $50 million in punitive damages, said lawyer Scott P. Nealey, who represented the plaintiffs.

Jurors found that DaimlerChrysler was negligent in the design of the vehicle's automatic transmission, which caused the truck to go into reverse after Richard Mraz, 38, believed it was in park, Nealey said.