Supreme Court: Lower Court Interpreted Prior Product Liability Opinion Too Broadly - Articles

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Supreme Court: Lower Court Interpreted Prior Product Liability Opinion Too Broadly

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 22, 2026

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled in two cases that a prior product liability decision does not require dismissal of a lawsuit over a fatal accident involving use of a seatbelt extender with a child’s booster seat. The case arose from a 2013 head-on collision that killed Benjamin Woodruff and seriously injured his 6-year-old son, Ethan, after the booster seat restraint allegedly released during the crash. The boy's mother, Sarah Woodruff, subsequently sued Ford Motor Co. and Dorel Juvenile Group, alleging the companies failed to warn consumers about the dangers of using a seatbelt extender to secure a booster seat. In the opinion, the high court held that its 2021 decision in Coffman v. Armstrong International Inc. did not bar failure-to-warn claims involving the combined use of two products. It thus found the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the claims on that basis. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts or read the first opinion and the second opinion.