An Oakland County Circuit Court jury has awarded $896.5 million to the family of a child catastrophically injured when a prototype Ford Mustang Dark Horse crashed through a guardrail during a STEM field trip at a test track in Auburn Hills, marking the largest single personal-injury verdict in Michigan history. A 10-year-old child suffered permanent brain damage in the crash, according to ClickOnDetroit. A second child was also seriously injured in the same incident.
The crash happened on July 17, 2023, when test driver Linus Gugino accelerated the prototype Mustang during a demonstration at Continental Automotive Systems' proving grounds in Auburn Hills, losing control and crashing through a guardrail where children were watching, according to Hemmings. Ford Motor Company had loaned the prototype vehicle to Continental for the field trip, which was organized through the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program, or DAPCEP, a Metro Detroit nonprofit founded in 1976 that provides K-12 STEM programming to thousands of underrepresented youth annually, per background compiled by the National Institutes of Health.
Cellphone video recorded by a child spectator captured the moment the Mustang lost control and plowed into the guardrail, with screams and children calling for help audible on the recording, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit. Attorneys presented that footage during trial and press briefings to show the sequence of the crash.
Nine Legal Counts Against Four Defendants
Families filed civil lawsuits in Oakland County Circuit Court in September 2024 outlining nine legal counts against Continental, Ford, DAPCEP, and driver Linus Gugino, including gross negligence, negligent entrustment, and premises liability. The lawsuits alleged organizers failed to implement basic safety precautions by placing child spectators directly adjacent to an active test track, according to reporting cited by Carscoops.
During trial, Continental Automotive admitted legal liability but offered no settlement money before the jury's decision, according to Courtroom View Network. Plaintiff attorney Jon Marko said after the trial that defense attorneys rejected a mediator's $60 million settlement recommendation, a figure the injured family had initially been willing to accept, the outlet reported. The jury's eventual award of $896.5 million dwarfed that rejected offer many times over.
Father's Bystander Claim Also Sets Record
In a related claim arising from the same crash, trial attorneys secured a $2.066 million verdict for the injured child's father, Vincent Gibson, setting a record for the largest bystander claim verdict in Michigan history, according to Marko Law. Gibson was present at the track during the field trip and witnessed the prototype car strike his young son, the firm said.
Court-appointed Special Conservator Darren Findling of The Probate Pro also participated in the litigation on behalf of the injured minor, identified in court filings as L.M., helping secure a $32.2 million portion of the Oakland County jury award designated for the child's fiduciary protection and long-term care. Michigan courts appoint special conservators like Findling to manage financial strategies and protect assets for injured minors during high-stakes litigation, according to the firm's own account of the case.
Why the Verdict Wasn't Capped
Under Michigan personal injury law, economic damages such as lifetime medical and assistance costs are uncapped, while statutory non-economic damage limits apply primarily to medical malpractice cases rather than standard motor vehicle negligence claims, per Goodman Acker. That legal framework left the Oakland County jury with full discretion to assess damages for the child's catastrophic, lifelong injuries without running into the pain-and-suffering caps that apply under MCL Section 600.1483 in malpractice suits.
The verdict adds to a broader pattern of historic mega-verdicts emerging from Michigan civil juries. Marko Law noted it also secured a separate $307.6 million federal civil rights verdict in the state, a trend the firm says reflects growing jury focus on corporate accountability and safety protocols. The Auburn Hills case, three years after the crash first upended two families' lives, now stands as the largest example of that shift.
