Ford Rollover Lawsuit Results in $8.5 Million Verdict
In a SUV rollover lawsuit against Ford Motor Company in Alabama, a jury rendered a verdict for $8.5 million against Ford.
The four-and-a-half week trial involved a rollover wreck of a Mercury Mountaineer (the Mercury version of the Ford Explorer) in 2003 near Douglasville, Georgia. The accident killed two people and injured two others.
Latoya Duckett, a passenger in the Mountaineer, filed the suit in 2005, claiming the vehicle was unstable and rolled over too easily. Ms. Duckett, 28, had her right leg amputated just below the knee and her left arm is paralyzed as a result of the accident. She also suffered a brain injury.
The jury heard testimony that a car had tried to get over into the SUV's lane. The SUV swerved into the left lane to avoid the car and when it attempted to go back right, the SUV flipped and rolled over four-and-a-half times.
The jury began deliberating about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and returned a verdict about 2 p.m. Wednesday, finding that the Mercury Mountaineer was defectively designed and, as a result, was unreasonably prone to rollover.
Ford nearly always appeals large verdicts against it, and will almost certainly do so in this case.
Other Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog posts on this topic:
Ford Explorer Rollover Accidents: Kentucky Injury Lawyer Special Report
SUV Rollover Accidents: Kentucky Injury Lawyer Update
Ford Explorer Rollover: Louisville KY Man Dies On Gene Snyder Expressway
