BMW Door Feature Causes Man Lose His Thumb, Slapped 'Rs 16 Crore' In Damages

BMW vs Godwin Boateng: In the United States, the soft door close feature of a BMW X5 failed, causing the upper part of a person's thumb to be severed. The incident occurred in 2016.

BMW vs Godwin Boateng Case In US: German car manufacturer BMW is famous for making high-end luxury cars. BMW cars are equipped with modern technologies, and many of the company's cars feature a soft door close mechanism. This feature allows the car doors to close quietly and slowly. If anything comes between, sensors immediately detect it, and the door does not close. However, this feature has proven costly for BMW.

In the United States, the soft door close feature of a BMW X5 failed, causing the upper part of a person's thumb to be severed. The incident occurred in 2016, and the victim took the company to court. Now, the Brooklyn federal court has ordered BMW to pay the victim $1.9 million (approximately INR 16 Crore) in damages.

The victim, Godwin Boateng, is a software engineer from New York. When the incident occurred, he was sitting in his BMW X5 with one hand resting on the edge of the driver's side. The car door was half-open when it suddenly closed forcefully, and Boateng's thumb got caught in the door.

By the time he managed to open the door and free his hand, the upper part of his thumb was severed. According to media reports, Godwin Boateng stated that the door closed so quickly that he did not have a chance to move his hand. He was immediately taken to the hospital, but doctors couldn't reattach the severed thumb.

Upset by the technical flaw in the expensive car, Boateng filed a lawsuit against BMW. The company argued in court that no technical defect was found during the car's inspection, according to the reports. The case went on for nine years before ending in Boateng's favor. “We’re very happy with the award,” said Boateng’s lawyer, Avi Cohen, as reported by the New York Post.