A lawyer who specializes in vehicle safety cases has sued State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. on Tuesday, claiming it directed a Dallas collision center to make a money-saving but inadequate repair that ended up severely injuring a couple when their car was struck head-on.

The federal lawsuit claims State Farm steered John Eagle Collision Center in Dallas into using an untested 3M panel bonding adhesive in place of Honda-specified welding to replace a hail-damaged steel roof several years ago. Automobile insurers typically pay for such repairs.

It's the second lawsuit by Dallas lawyer Todd Tracy in the case involving Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, who were severely injured when the roof gave way in a 2013 accident in Texas' Hill Country. The Murphy couple sued John Eagle in 2015 for the faulty repair. Pretrial testimony in that case prompted the State Farm lawsuit, Tracy said.

On July 7, in pretrial testimony for the John Eagle suit, the Dallas collision center's body shop director, Boyce Willis, said the collision center deliberately ignored and violated Honda's repair specifications when it glued the roof on with the 3M 8115 adhesive, according to documents provided by Tracy's law firm.

That original suit is scheduled to be tried Sept. 25 in front of Judge Craig Smith in Dallas County's 192nd Civil District Court. No date has been set for the State Farm suit, which was filed Tuesday.

Matthew and Marcia Seebachan are represented by Dallas lawyer Todd Tracy in their suits against John Eagle Collision Center and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (Courtesy of Tracy Law Firm)

On Dec. 21, 2013, the Seebachans were on their way to spend the Christmas holiday with Marcia's grandmother in the Texas Hill Country when a Toyota Tundra pickup truck hydroplaned into the path of their 2010 Honda Fit.

The Seebachans had purchased the used subcompact car four months earlier in Denton, not knowing that before they bought it, its metal roof had been glued, not welded, by John Eagle Collision Center for a previous owner. That detail was not included in the car's vehicle history report.

Tracy's lawsuits contend the collision set off a “domino effect” of structural failures within the car, including the collapse of the car’s safety cage, which punctured the fuel tank under the driver’s seat.

The car caught fire, and the collapsed roof trapped the Seebachans inside. Matthew sustained third-degree burns on his lower legs and feet before he was rescued from the car. Marcia was extracted through the car's passenger-side window.

"There were massive crushing injuries to their bodies," Tracy said. The couple's arms, chests and ribs were injured and internal organs were lacerated.

Robert Riggs, a spokesman for Tracy Law Firm, said Matthew's burns took two years to heal.

1 / 5Marcia and Matthew Seebachan were on their way to spend the 2013 Christmas holiday with family in the Texas Hill Country when a Toyota Tundra pickup truck hydroplaned into the path of their 2010 Honda Fit.(Courtesy of Tracy Law Firm) 2 / 5Todd Tracy, the Seebachans' lawyer, filed a second suit, this one against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., on Tuesday. (Courtesy of Tracy Law Firm) 3 / 5When the roof collapsed, it trapped Marcia and Matthew Seebachan inside their 2010 Honda Fit.(Courtesy of Tracy Law Firm) 4 / 5Matthew Seebachan's foot was caught under a pedal after the fuel tank caught fire. He was pulled from the car through the driver's-side window.(Courtesy of Tracy Law Firm) 5 / 5Matthew Seebachan's third-degree burns took two years to heal, a spokesman for his lawyer said Friday.(Courtesy of Tracy Law Firm)

Had the roof been repaired according to Honda's body repair manual, which specified welding at 104 spots, the Seebachans likely would have had only "minor injuries," Tracy said.

"John Eagle Collision Center used glue instead of the more expensive welding because it cares more about getting paid by the insurance company than they care about putting a vehicle out there on the road that's safe and reliable," Tracy said. His firm said State Farm paid the collision center $8,500 for the repair.

Tracy specializes in vehicle safety law and re-enacts collisions to determine what causes injuries to his clients. He had the accident analyzed by automotive and biomechanical engineers in his Dallas crash lab.

"The shoddy and substandard repair work turned Matthew and Marcia Seebachan's Honda into a bonfire," the lawsuit said.

State Farm is "not in the business of designing vehicles, or testing vehicles, or repairing vehicles. And their adjusters are certainly not professional automotive engineers with an expertise in designing vehicles that provide crash-worthiness protection to prevent serious injuries," Tracy said. "No insurance company should ever dictate to a collision center how to repair a vehicle."

State Farm spokesman Chris Pilcic said in an emailed statement that Tracy's claims are "not supported by the facts." The statement said State Farm has "a long, proud history of achievements in advancing vehicle safety" and the company will defend its reputation in court.

John Eagle Collision Center did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.

The Seebachans' lawsuit has resulted in an outpouring of feedback from the collision center industry, some of whose workers say this type of coercion is not new, Riggs said.

"I think you're going to see all the major auto insurance companies in litigation over this," he said.

Facebook: Tracy M. Cook / Twitter: @tmcook23