ARTICLE ID 162017
$________ GROSS - PRODUCT LIABILITY - TIRE DELAMINATION IN ________ FORD EXPLORER - ROLLOVER - PLAINTIFF HUSBAND AND SON SUFFER MULTIPLE FRACTURE AND SOFT TISSUE INJURIES - WRONGFUL DEATH OF WIFE/MOTHER OF THREE.
Dallas
This was a product liability action in which the
plaintiffs contended that as a result of a defective tire on a
`96 Ford Explorer, the vehicle experienced a sudden and
catastrophic tire failure, causing it to roll over. The
plaintiffs maintained that the rollover resulted in the death of
the right rear seat passenger, a wife and mother of three, minor
injuries to the plaintiff husband/driver, and permanent injuries
to the passenger son. Two of the plaintiffs other children were
traveling in a car behind the Explorer and witnessed their mother
being thrown from the vehicle as it rolled over and brought
claims for emotional distress damages. The defendants included
Ford Motor Company, Michelin Tire (as distributor of Uniroyal
tires), ProCare Automotive Solutions and others. The defendants
claimed that the rollover was not caused by a tire defect, that
the plaintiff drivers negligence was the cause of the accident,
and maintained that the decedent passenger wife was ejected due
to her failure to wear her available safety belt.
The evidence revealed that on July 12, ________, the plaintiff
husband, James W., a 52-year-old sales manager, was operating his
________ Ford Explorer when suddenly and unexpectedly, the left rear
tire, which was a Uniroyal Steel Belted Radial Laredo All Season
AWD P235/75R15, experienced a "de-tread," or delamination of the
steel belt, causing the tread to separate from the tire and
resulting in an emergency situation. The plaintiff driver
attempted to maintain control of the Ford Explorer after the tire
delaminated, however, due to the inherent instability of the
Explorer, he lost control of the Explorer whereupon it allegedly
rolled over four times.
The decedent wife, Dianne W., was in the right rear seat. She was
ejected from the vehicle during the rollover. She suffered
numerous, severe injuries and died at the scene. The Plaintiffs
contended that she was restrained while the Defendants contended
she was not. The plaintiff driver maintained that he suffered
minor injuries including cuts, bruises and abrasions as well as
fractures of the collarbone, shoulder blade and wrist. The
plaintiff son, Kenneth Charles W. was the front seat passenger.
He claimed to have suffered severe and permanent injuries
including broken bones and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kiersten W. and Shaeffer W. were riding in a vehicle following
their parents Ford Explorer. They observed their mother being
ejected from the vehicle as it rolled over and came to a rest.
Kiersten was 12 years old and Shaeffer was age seven at the time.
Prior to the incident in question, the Plaintiff husband had the
subject vehicle inspected at the co-defendant ProCare Automotive
in Rowlett, Dallas County, Texas. The inspection took place on
June 11, ________. ProCare inspected the vehicle for a state
inspection, inspected the tires on the vehicle and said that they
were in "good shape" and did not need to be rotated. ProCare also
conducted a preventative maintenance inspection.
The plaintiffs contended that the ________ Ford Explorer was
defective in design due to inherent instability, handling and
skate. The plaintiffs further contended that the defendant
Uniroyal Tire defectively manufactured the tire on the Ford
Explorer. Finally, the plaintiffs alleged that the co-defendant
ProCare Automotive conducted a negligent tire inspection one-
month prior to the accident.
The plaintiffs presented evidence which revealed that two
videotaped experiments on ________ Ford Explorers simulating tire
tread delamination allegedly showed the vehicle skating and the
professional drivers losing control of the vehicle. The
plaintiffs contended that internal Ford documents from both
before and after the manufacture of the subject ________ Ford
Explorer recognized skate as a defect. These documents further
revealed that Ford was aware of a safer alternative in the
suspension design involving moving the shocks out towards the
wheels and stiffening the shocks in order to eliminate skate.
Post-sale Ford documents from foreign countries allegedly
recognized a skate defect with the Ford Explorer and Ford
instituted a recall to implement the safer alternative design in
Australia, Venezuela, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, but not in the
U.S. This recall involved moving the shocks out-board towards the
wheels and strengthening the brackets holding the shocks.
The plaintiffs presented medical specials including $________ for
the plaintiff James W., $________ in past expenses for plaintiff
Kenneth C.W. as well as $________ per year in projected future
medical expenses. The decedents burial expenses totaled $________.
The defense contended that none of the products were defective
and that ProCare was not negligent. The defendants maintained
that in fact, it was the negligence of the plaintiff husband
which caused the rollover and the defendants made a claim of
comparative negligence against this plaintiff. The defendants
finally contended that the decedents failure to wear her
available seat belt was the cause of her ejectment and subsequent
death.
The trial lasted over five weeks and the jury returned a 5-1
verdict for the plaintiffs against Ford Motor Company, finding
that the Ford Explorer was defectively designed. They further
found in favor of ProCare and Michelin North America, Inc.,
finding that ProCare was not at fault and that Michelin did not
make an unreasonably dangerous tire. While the jury found that
the Explorer had a handling and stability design defect, the jury
further found that the side window glass was not defectively
designed. The jury found that the plaintiff husbands negligent
driving was a contributing cause of the accident and that the
decedents failure to wear her seatbelt was a cause of her
injuries and death. After reduction for the comparative
negligence of the plaintiff and decedent, the net award totaled
$________ including prejudgment interest.
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