"This wasn't supposed to happen to me," says Madras, Oregon, resident Anne Kirkwood. "This was supposed to happen to somebody else." The "this" that Kirkwood refers to was a fiery explosion that changed her life. On August 11, 1994, she was driving on a highway near Madras when her car collided with a 1976 GM pickup truck with sidesaddle gas tanks. Upon collision, the tanks exploded and Kirkwood's vehicle was engulfed in flames. Her granddaughter, seated next to her, was killed by the fire and her granddaughter's half-brother, in the back seat, suffered severe burns.

Kirkwood herself was burned beyond recognition — her face was burned away and she lost her nose. In places, the fire burned down to her skull. She lost her right leg below the knee and lost sight in her left eye. Kirkwood spent an enormous amount of time in the hospital and suffered through numerous operations. Since the accident she estimates she has been through over 30 surgical procedures, mostly to rebuild her face with skin grafts.

At the time of the collision, the sidesaddle gas tanks were a known defect in the design of certain years of GM trucks. An effort was underway to recall the trucks. They had been estimated to have burned or killed hundreds of people nationally.

Because the defective GM truck was 18 years old when the incident occurred, Kirkwood could not claim damages against the Detroit manufacturer. Oregon law contains a statute of ultimate repose, which bars claims against manufacturers of defective products if the product in question is more than eight years old. These laws are unusual and Oregon's is the third most restrictive of all the 18 states that even have such a law. To be able to hold General Motors accountable, Kirkwood had to change the state law.


When Lawrence Baron began his solo practice in 1995, Anne Kirkwood was one of his first clients. Her fight against GM became his first major case in his own firm. Kirkwood is thankful she hired Baron because of his determination to pursue her case. "There wasn't a time I didn't feel absolutely confident in Lawrence," she says. "I put all my trust in him. I would trust him with anything in my life."

Baron worked with lobbyist Brad Higbee at the legislature to change the law. Kirkwood's daughter, Annette, took charge to rally the family's church and community. She raised funds to hire the lobbyist in a story that might be compared to David against Goliath. Ultimately, an amendment to the statute of repose made its way through the legislature. The amendment specifically excepted "sidesaddle gas tanks" from the restrictive Oregon law. GM hired 18 lawyers to fight the case, but finally settled on January 10, 1997, 10 days before the trial was to begin. Details of the settlement are confidential.

For his efforts, Baron was recognized as 1997 National Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. In presenting the award, the organization said Baron took on a case that virtually no one else would have pursued. Baron acknowledged the efforts of the many individuals who assisted him, not only Kirkwood and her family but also his co-counsel, Paul Whelan and Mike Withey. Through it all, the lobbying and the trial preparation, Baron worked his way into Anne Kirkwood's heart. "All the way through," she recalls, "there wasn't a time when I didn't feel confident in Lawrence. He was so energetic and so personally concerned for my welfare. Outside of being my lawyer, I think of him as another son. We invite him to all our family reunions."

Kirkwood still has to endure her painful injuries. Through it all, however, she maintains a positive spirit. One judge commented about Anne Kirkwood that "you could go to heaven by hanging onto her skirt."