Chief Deputy Richard Kastigar leased a 2020 Mercedes GLE 450 in September 2020. One of the installed features is “soft close automatic doors.” Kastigar had his right thumb on the inside of the door and four fingers on the outside of the door when the self-closing door shut on his hand. Kastigar shares that without notice, he felt his right thumb getting crushed by the vehicle door. He watched in horror as the SUV’s door severed his thumb. As a result the entire top portion of his thumb was amputated and blood was spurting everywhere.

Surgeons attempted to reconstruct the top portion of the thumb but it was too late. With his thumb left badly mangled and a shell of what it previously was Deputy Kastigar is left with limited strength and his thumb has a limited range of motion. Mr. Kastigar is frequently unable to sleep due to pain and the injury has left him unable to handle many activites of daily living including the ability to button his shirt. Due to the partial loss of his thumb Kastigar is unable to use a firearm which is essential in his role as a public safety peace officer.

This specific issue and injuries has happened in other luxury brands including BMW, Jaguar and Bentley automobiles and now Mercedes SUV’s. When manufacturers fail to adequately address an issue people may be injured or even killed. Since 1990 36 children were killed by automatic electric car windows and that issue was addressed. When a company is aware of an issue and they fail to address that issue in a proactive manner the legal system steps in to force them to take action as is the case with Deputy Kastigar.

We represent people who are injured because of the careless and reckless acts of others. At the end of the day your case can only be settled one time and you need to know all of the facts beforehand. The reason that insurance companies have paid our clients in excess of $130,000,000.00 is that we get the facts and are not intimidated at the prospect of going to trial when insurance companies fail to offer full compensation. A Sacramento personal injury lawyer can help with serious injuries that require serious representation. We are the Law Offices of Guenard & Bozarth, LLP. Our attorneys have more than 60 years of experience specializing in only representing injured people. Call GB Legal 24/7/365 at 888-809-1075 or contact Guenard & Bozarth online. We would be honored to represent you!