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ARTICLE ID 48434
Product liability - Defective design - The plaintiff alleged absence of electronic stability control was cause of rollover collision - Wrongful death of 20-year-old.
United stateorgs District Court
This was a product liability matter in which the plaintiff
contended that the defendants vehicle lacked an electronic
stability control which resulted in the rollover collision that
caused the decedents untimely death. The defendant denied the
allegations and maintained that the plaintiffs decedent had
fallen asleep at the wheel, causing his own injury.
On August 21, ________, the 20 year old decedent was driving his ________
Ford Explorer on Interstate 80 on a trip home from Washington,
D.C. His vehicle drifted to the left side of the road. When the
decedent corrected the drifting by steering the vehicle back to
the right, the vehicle rolled over. The decedent was ejected from
the vehicle and died.
The plaintiff brought suit against the defendant, Ford, alleging
that the ________ Ford Explorer was defective as it lacked electronic
stability control that caused it to have a propensity to be
unstable and rollover. The plaintiffs expert opined that the
addition of an electronic stability control would have prevented
the rollover.
The plaintiff presented evidence that the decedent, an upcoming
evangelist, would have been a multi-millionaire if he had lived
significantly increasing the potential damages.
The defendant disputed the allegations of the defective design of
its vehicle. The defendant argued that the plaintiffs decedent
had merely fallen asleep behind the wheel and it was his own
negligence, and not a defect in the vehicle, that caused the
rollover and subsequent death of the driver. The defendant
presented evidence of telephone calls between the decedent and
one of his friends where he mentioned how tired he was while
driving that evening.
The defendant further argued that the force of the correction
when the decedent awoke was substantial and was the cause of the
vehicles rollover.
After a nine day trial, the jury deliberated for approximately
thirty minutes before returning its verdict in favor of the
defendant and against the plaintiff.
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