Benz owner whose thumb was cut off by car door sues automaker

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Soft-close doors were created with the intent to save car-owners some trouble when they’d left the door slightly ajar after trying to close it. Instead of going back, re-opening it, and then closing it again, the mechanism would sense the slight aperture, and automatically fully close the door.

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For the Chief Deputy of the Pima County Sheriff Department in Arizona, Richard J. Kastigar, Jr., they instead caused quite a bit of trouble, after he accidentally got his thumb pinned between the bodyside column and the door of his vehicle. Sensing the almost-but-not-closed door but not Kastigar’s finger, the soft-close clamped down.

Kastigar’s back was to his 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 while his hand was in the aforementioned gap between door and column, reports CarComplaints . When it closed on its own, the door severed the top part of his thumb from his hand. Even worse, by the time he got to the hospital, surgeons said it was impossible to reattach the severed digit.

He’s seeking US$500,000 in lost wages, as he can no longer work due to the top portion of his thumb being amputated.

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In the lawsuit includes , Kastigar’s lawyer writes: “A once proud and independent man who protects the public from harm now relies on his wife to assist him with going to the bathroom, showering, brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and buttoning his shirt. He has great difficulties holding a pen, feeding himself, tying his shoes, using tools, and assisting around the house with chores such as laundry and washing dishes.”

Furthermore, it asks Mercedes-Benz to implement sensors in its soft-closing doors to avoid anyone else experiencing this type of injury.

Fellow German automaker BMW was subjected to a similar lawsuit in 2017, though it was dismissed due to this type of injury often happening due to human error.

Far from a fluke, though, Kastigar instead likened the soft-close-door tech to “nothing short of a modern-day guillotine.” While sympathetic to his plight, we’d point out King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette would certainly disagree.