Jury orders child-seat maker to pay $10.5 million

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis couple has been awarded $10.5 million in a lawsuit against the maker of a car safety seat for injuries their 2-year-old son suffered when a drunk driver struck their car.

A jury ruled Friday that the Cosco safety seat had a faulty design that was partly responsible for severe injuries suffered by Benjamin Uxa. The toddler was in a Cosco high-back booster seat on Sept. 27, 1999, when his mother's car was struck.

The boy's head struck the inside of the door, which caused traumatic brain injury.

The family sued Cosco, now Dorel Inc., claiming that the car seat failed to provide protection from a side impact.

Dorel officials denied the seat was defective and said the impact of the crash was so severe no seat could have prevented the injuries.

The verdict will be appealed, Dorel spokesman Rick Lechner said Tuesday.