Jury Orders Ford to Pay $8.5 Million Dollars to a Woman Who Sustained Injuries in a Ford SUV Rollover Case
In another verdict against Ford Motor Company on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 a jury awarded $8.5 million dollars after a 4 1/2 week product liability trial. The lawsuit was filed in 2005 alleging that the Mercury Mountaineer SUV was unstable and prone to roll over. The 22-year old passenger (victim) was ejected from the vehicle during a rollover and as a result sustained brain damage, broken bones, a collapsed lung, a fractured skull, paralysis to her left arm and hand, and a right leg amputation. The trial lawyers contended that Ford Motor Company negligently designed, manufactured, produced, and distributed the Mercury Mountaineer which caused the accident.
The Mercury Mountaineer was alleged to be inherently defective and dangerous as the model does not possess sufficient stability to prevent it from rolling over on its side and roof. Allegations were made at the trial that Ford Motor Company was aware of this defect but failed to make adequate corrections. Trial attorney Willie Gary stated that Ford Motor Company took a calculated risk by manufacturing defective vehicles.
We salute the efforts of Willie Gary as well as other attorneys in the fight against Ford Motor Company and other motor companies who continue to place unsafe vehicles on the road knowing that they are dangerous, selecting profits over safety and seemingly making calculated decisions to take their risks in the courts.
