PENNSYLVANIA SUV ROLLOVER LAWYER WEIGHS IN ON DESIGN DEFECTS INHERENT TO SUVs AND I5 PASSENGER VANS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES
On January 19, 2002, Benetta Buell-Wilson of San Diego, California was driving her 1997 Ford Explorer on an interstate highway when she swerved to avoid a metal object in the road and the SUV went out of control. The vehicle skidded across the highway and rolled more than 4 ½ times when the Explorer came to rest on its roof. The accident left the 49 year old woman crushed and paralyzed. A California jury awarded Buell-Wilson and her husband $369,000,000, including $246,000,000 in punitive damages. The state courts of California reduced the amount of the verdict. However, the California Court of Appeals approved an $82.6 million dollar settlement, including $55 million in punitive damages.
The experienced Philadelphia motor vehicle accident and personal injury lawyers at the law firm of Reiff and Bily have been handling SUV Explorer rollover and 15 passenger van rollover cases in Pennsylvania and other states in the nation with a successful track record. The Explorer and other SUV’s are flawed because they have a higher center of gravity and are prone to rollover. Also, research indicates that the Explorer roofs are inadequate to protect occupants in a rollover accident and Ford was aware of knowledge of these designs flaws but failed to fix them. Ford has consistently argued that the verdicts against them are unjust because the design of the vehicles meets minimal federal safety standards.
On February 8, 2008, the Ford Motor Company paid $6.5 million dollars to a 41 year old man left brain damaged in a 2004 rollover accident involving an Explorer sport utility vehicle that a Texas jury ordered them to pay. In that claim, Ruben Camora lost control of his 1993 Explorer when a tire lost its tread and he was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled over. His mother, who sued on his behalf, noted that the tread separation set off vibrations on the rear of the vehicle that caused it to skate sideways because of a defect in the SUV’s suspension.
Ford has consistently claimed in all of these accidents that “it is unfair to blame Ford for these accidents” and always looks to blame it on driver error, lack of being belted properly or other issues other than their own defective design. Research indicates that last year Ford sold 137,817 Explorers, a 23% decline from 2006. In 2002, Ford sold more than 400,000 Explorers. Honda’s SUV, the CRV, surpassed Explorers in 2007 as the top selling sport utility vehicle. There are over 20,000,000 SUV’s in the nation’s garages and although one would typically think that they are safer than smaller vehicles due to their size, in reality, SUV occupants are more likely than car occupants to die in a crash and more likely to become paralyzed. SUV’s are hard to control, especially in emergencies or accident avoidance maneuvers, and inflict horrific injuries on other vehicles when they hit them. We have noticed many more catastrophic injuries in the Pennsylvania SUV rollover cases based upon inquiries made to our law firm, and our research has indicated that SUV’s are continuing to rollover with frequency on Pennsylvania roadways.
SUV’s historically have had a rollover problem that goes well beyond the noted failures of Ford Firestone tires on Ford Explorers. The death toll from rollover crashes accounts for a third of all highway vehicle deaths and in 60% of the deaths in SUVs. In Pennsylvania, more catastrophic injuries and fatalities occur in SUV rollovers than is the case with the ordinary passenger car. Many SUVs have a suspension system that does not properly work to protect the occupants. The result is demonstrated in rollovers causing roof crush accidents, serious injuries, and wrongful death.
The experienced Philadelphia motor vehicle accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily have faced SUV manufacturers in the courts of Philadelphia and other jurisdictions nationwide, and have convincingly revealed design defects to the courts, obtaining substantial awards. Many of the instability problems of SUVs are precipitated by tire problems and under belt separations. When the tread separates from the tire on an SUV, the vehicle will move in a skate-type motion. The “skate” is a term used by Ford engineers to describe the breaking loose of the back end when the vehicle experiences off road interaction with a rumble strip or a tread belt separation. When a SUV typically rolls over, the occupants are at exceptional risk due to the fact that these vehicles were not designed with adequate roof crush protection and the seat belts do not normally protect the occupants in such a rollover incident.
An interesting argument can be made that since Ford also owns Volvo, which has a much safer safety record and is more safely designed, why are Volvos much safer and cost relatively the same amount? The Volvo XE90 does not have a skate problem, nor stability problem, and its roof crush protection is excellent, incorporating adequate and appropriate seat belt design. Unfortunately, Ford puts profits over safety in their design and sale of the Explorer. Originally, defective Ford ATX and Wilderness AT spare tires created an unusually dangerous situation when placed on Ford Explorers. 20,000,000 tires were sold, however, 12,000,000 were recalled. In August of 2000 and again in June and October 2001, the Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone/Firestone conducted massive campaigns to retrieve some 20,000,000 P235/75R15 ATX and 15, 16 and 17 inch Wilderness AT tires after a federal investigation determined that the tires were prone to tread separations that officially claim more than 270 lives and rollover accident, mostly involving Ford Explorers.
Many consumers assume that spare tires were changed as well. However, its location on the vehicle made it impossible for the consumer to check without removing it. Some consumers were told they would have to wait a year for a spare replacement and despite complaints to Ford, some spares were not replaced. This was the case with many Pennsylvania Explorer users who spoke with our firm. When the original owners sold their vehicle, the forgotten spare was passed along, and in some cases used. In the last few years there have been a few cases in which a defective, recalled tire caused a serious incident or accident resulting in fatalities and/or other catastrophic or permanent injuries. Although ATX and Wilderness tires may appear to be in perfect condition with deep tread, the tires age and degrade over time, regardless of whether or not they have been used. Despite the efforts of the NTHSA to place tighter regulations and controls on the manufacturers to make safer vehicles, they still continue to place profits over safety.
On August 7, 2008, a sport utility vehicle rolled over on a rural highway southwest of Phoenix, killing at least nine people. The investigating officer, Carmen Figueroa stated that the 1990 GMC Suburban was heading north when it ran off the road, hit something, rolled up ending on its top, causing the roof to cave in when the SUV rolled. No other vehicles were involved and all of the victims were adults. Crashes involving heavily loaded SUVs and 15 passenger vans are fairly common in Arizona, Texas, California and in the southwest where high roadway temperatures can cause tires to detread, resulting in instability of the vehicle. While the automobile manufacturers seem to tell you that the problems with rollovers have gone away. They have not. All of the millions of new SUVs manufactured and sold, still have a tremendous tendency towards rollover accidents.
The Pennsylvania motor vehicle accident lawyers of the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily has gained a national reputation, specializing in representing serious and catastrophically injured people for over 30 years. The experienced product liability lawyers at Reiff and Bily have been holding manufacturers accountable for their negligent acts and for the sale of dangerous products that have killed and maimed consumers in Pennsylvania and the United States.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding serious personal injuries or the wrongful death of a friend or family member involved in a vehicle rollover or other serious accident resulting from a defectively maintained motor vehicle, please call for a free and confidential consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or email us at www.reiffandbily.com.
