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Ford Explorer rollover case: $82.6m award confirmed

 
8 1,876 views Mar 11, 2008
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Ford Explorer rollover case: $82.6m award confirmed

Ford Explorer rollover case: $82.6m award confirmed

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The U.S. Supreme court asked a California appeals court to review the amount awarded to a woman who was paralyzed when her Ford Explorer rolled over. An inordinately weak roof structure was to blame for the injury, and according to the appeals court's review, the award will stand. Of the $82.6 million awarded, $55 million consists of punitive damages against the auto maker.

The accident that gave rise to the case occurred when Benetta Buell-Wilson was driving east on an interstate in San Diego, CA in 2002. She swerved to avoid an object in the road, and the vehicle rolled, collapsing the roof. The injury to her neck caused permanent paralysis from the waist down, reports the Associated Press.

Initially, Ms. Buell-Wilson was awarded $369 million by a jury, but that amount was subsequently reduced twice upon review. The latest amount is final, and the review stands in the face of an earlier Supreme Court decision which had overturned an award of $79.5 million in punitive damages against a tobacco company.



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Comments (8)

  1. By Gus Posted: 3/11/2008 6:40pm PDT

    Now you'll see a HUGE flood of lawsuits based on this same principle; Your car/SUV didn't protect me in all circumstances and now I want millions.
    I'm all for stronger and safer vehicles, but if the vehicle in question met the Federal safety standards in place at the time, then that's that. When will people realize that travelling in a vehicle far faster than what nature ever intended for our bodies will always be somewhat dangerous?
    Should government mandate a stronger roof structure? Maybe. Should Ford (or any other company) have to pay for every person out there who hurts themselves in an accident? No. If that were the case then we'd quickly have no more cars at all...
     
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  2. By James Posted: 3/11/2008 9:53pm PDT

    Idiocracy
     
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  3. By mark Posted: 3/12/2008 4:22am PDT

    They forgot to say she crashed while trying to eat her double cheese burger while talking on her cell phone. If a car meets the regs set down by the country then there should be no law suits. If a car is made with faults that cause a smash then you can sue but even then the pay outs should be realistic.
     
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  4. By chris Posted: 3/12/2008 7:35am PDT

    hey gus, what the hell is going on in that country of yours? and by that i dont mean america.

    i'm joking, but like you guys say, when the hell are the courts going to start protecting the companies? the regulators signed off on it. this is like that volvo manslaughter charge. its insanity.

    mark: its a ford, even if she was talking on her cell phone, it had sync so she had at least one hand on the wheel (unless ur talking about one of those burgers from carls jr, i hear those things are two handers).


    looks like bill ford III isnt getting payed for another 3 years.
     
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  5. By Harry Posted: 3/12/2008 1:19pm PDT

    guys if you look into the history behind the ford rollover case, ford destroyed around 50 of 100 documents showing the the explorer was a rollover prone car. These were tests conducted and asked during the trials by government agencies. Also engineers suggested that modifications to the car be made to decrease the rollover tendency. Ford decided to implement the less costly and most superficial ones. So it's not the fat lady's fault the car sucked..
     
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  6. By Gus Posted: 3/12/2008 1:58pm PDT

    It's not the fat lady's fault the car sucked, but it's the government's fault for not improving the rules.
    The point is, every vehicle is dangerous. You could argue every SUV is a "rollover prone car".
     
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  7. By Harout Posted: 3/13/2008 6:38pm PDT

    It's the fat lady's fault for buying a Ford in the first place....the name says it all, cheap quality, stupid American car.
     
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  8. By Edward Posted: 3/16/2008 10:33pm PDT

    The person who suffers an accident like this has no legal claim what so ever if the seat belt is not used. It´s called assuming the risk. If Ford is at fault, then sue the hell outta´ them!
     
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