Lara

Appellant, a long-distance tracker, was the successful plaintiff in a personal injury case arising from a motor vehicle accident but claims there was no substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding that he was 50 percent at fault for failing to wear a safety restraint while asleep in the sleeper berth of the track, and the unjust verdict was the result of (1) instructional error and (2) jury misconduct in rendering a quotient verdict. We find the court did not err in giving an instruction on the seat belt defense, and the jury did not arrive at a chance or quotient verdict.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Ramon Lara (Lara) was asleep in the sleeper berth of his son’s big rig track as the son drove on the highway. Defendant Robert Nevitt (Nevitt) lost control of his car and collided with the track. Plaintiff’s son, Victor Lara (Victor), was driving 55 miles per hour, and though he hit the brakes hard enough to lock them up, he was unable to avoid the collision. Lara was not wearing a seat belt, and he was thrown forward, striking his head and shoulders against cabinets in the sleeping berth.

Nevitt’s defense rested largely on Lara’s negligence in failing to wear a…