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A Texas man’s finger was severed clean off when the automatic door of a Porsche Panamera closed on his hand after he strapped his grandchild into their car seat, according to a harrowing new lawsuit.
Beaumont resident Sylvester Plumbar Jr. was at his daughter and son-in-law’s Houston home in May 2023 when the horrifying incident occurred, the complaint obtained by The Independent. states.
As Plumbar, 67, was getting ready to leave, he “decided to assist… by securing their toddler in his car seat,” according to the complaint, which was filed Tuesday in state court.
Once the boy was strapped in, Plumbar stepped back but didn’t move his hand away fast enough, the complaint goes on.
“His index finger became stuck in the door,” it says. “Instead of the door releasing, the door’s power door close assist, or soft-close doors, continued to close, completely severing the index finger of Plaintiff.”
The high-end feature uses an electric motor to gently shut the door and is designed to sense the presence of an unexpected object that gets in the way, such as a person’s finger, in which case it is meant to immediately stop closing. However, Plumbar’s complaint claims the system malfunctioned and took his digit, leaving him with only nine fingers.
The entry-level Panamera retails for just over $100,000 and can go as high as $226,500 for a top-end model.
In an email on Wednesday, Porsche spokesperson Jennifer Bixler told The Independent, “Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
In 2021, an Arizona police officer sued Mercedes-Benz after he lost a thumb in the soft-closing door of his GLE 450.
“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,” according to the complaint filed on behalf of 69-year-old Pima County Chief Deputy Rick Kastigar, which deemed the motorized door a “modern-day guillotine.”
“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,” the complaint said.
Kastigar and Mercedes later settled out of court.
In 2016, a Long Island software engineer was also left thumbless thanks to the soft-closing door of his “dream car,” a $70,000 BMW X5.
“With the front driver’s door approximately one-foot ajar, the… sensor activated the electric motor, which pulled the driver’s door firmly, and not ‘so softly’ snapped through the flesh, nerves, blood vessels, tendons, musculature and bone structure of Boateng’s right thumb,” Godwin Boateng’s lawsuit read.
Last June, following a years-long court battle, a jury awarded Boateng, 68, nearly $2 million in damages.
Plumbar has requested a jury trial and is demanding a minimum of $250,000.
