Automakers face lawsuits regularly, but this case involving Kia is unusual because it centers on one of the company’s veteran technicians who was injured on the job.
Automakers frequently deal with legal cases over privacy, safety, and reliability. A Kia technician sued after suffering an injury from a hidden metal edge behind a dashboard. Warranty and strict liability claims have been dismissed, while negligence claims are still pending.
Lawsuits have become an almost routine part of the automotive industry. Recent examples include Toyota being taken to court after a driver claimed his vehicle tracked him without consent. Tesla, meanwhile, has faced renewed legal scrutiny over reports that its Model S door handles fail more often than they should.
Most of these disputes involve vehicle owners who believe a car crossed a line, whether regarding privacy, safety, or reliability. This Kia case, however, stands apart.
This time, it’s not a customer filing suit, it’s one of the company’s own experienced technicians. The issue isn’t flashy technology or a defect noticeable in showrooms. Instead, the problem stems from a sharp metal edge hidden behind a Kia Soul’s dashboard.
According to Kia’s press release, the technician was working inside a 2012 Kia Soul dashboard when he suffered a wrist injury severe enough to damage a tendon, requiring surgery. Notably, he had performed the same repair on similar vehicles many times without incident.
The technician’s lawsuit includes claims ranging from strict liability to breach of warranty (which some observers found unusual), failure to warn, and alleged manufacturing and design defects. Kia argued that workers’ compensation should cover the injury and that most of the legal claims were inapplicable to the situation.
The court did not accept Kia’s argument that workers’ compensation barred the lawsuit. Arkansas law allows injured employees to pursue third parties, including manufacturers.
However, the judge dismissed warranty claims, noting that such protections are intended for vehicle buyers and their immediate contacts, not for technicians working on a car years after its manufacture.
The strict liability claim was also rejected. The court considered whether the vehicle was unreasonably dangerous for someone with the technician’s background. With decades of experience, a Kia master certification, and familiarity handling sharp edges behind dashboards, the judge concluded the risk was not excessive for a professional.
The lawsuit is not yet resolved. Negligence claims, covering failure to warn, manufacturing defects, and design defects, remain active.
The court highlighted several unresolved questions, including whether Kia should have instructed technicians to wear gloves, whether the metal bracket was sharper than it should have been, and whether the component could have been designed more safely.
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