Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
A jury has ordered the Ford Motor Co. to pay more than $61 million to the family of a 17-year-old boy killed in a roll-over accident when his friend fell asleep while driving an Explorer.
Ford was liable in the accident because it sold a vehicle with poor handling and stability, the jury said Tuesday.
The company planned to appeal, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The family of Lance Crossman Hall claimed Ford knew the Explorer was prone to roll-overs and failed to warn consumers about the vehicle’s defects.
Ford blamed defective Firestone tires for the Explorer’s handling and stability problems, and the company knowingly continued to produce unsafe vehicles, Bruce Kaster, an attorney for the family, said Wednesday.
How about the fact that the driver fell asleep? Unbelievable.
November 18th, 2005 at 10:01 am
SU – what would your top 5 gun blogs be? With an emphasis on safety/correct use, 2nd amendment rights, & debunking common misconceptions. Cheers.
November 18th, 2005 at 10:42 am
Top 5? That’s a tough one. I’d recommend perusing the Gun Blog Community.
November 18th, 2005 at 5:08 pm
I’d guess that the driver doesn’t have a whole lot of $$$. The kid who died was 17, I’d guess his friend to be the same, +/- maybe 2 years.
November 18th, 2005 at 5:22 pm
Don’t all vehicles handle poorly when the driver is asleep? What was Ford supposed to do to improve sleep-driving.
November 21st, 2005 at 7:31 am
How do you save a drowning lawyer?
Say Uncle illustrates the need for tort reform: A jury has ordered the Ford Motor Co. to pay more than $61 million to the family of a 17-year-old boy killed in a roll-over accident when his friend fell asleep while…
November 22nd, 2005 at 10:35 am
Those who look at one side of an issue don’t have the right to make comments…
“Lawyers for Hall-Edwards presented internal memos that showed management ignored suggestions by Ford engineers that called for redesigning the roof to maintain structural integrity. In addition, the lawyers argued, the seatbelt restraint system did not adequately prevent Hall from being ejected from the vehicle. The lawyers said that even though Ford knew that the vehicle was unstable, it continued to produce a defective product because fixing the problems would reduce profits. The plaintiff lawyers also presented evidence that Ford, to win Consumer Union testing approval for the Explorer, placed sandbags on the floor of the test vehicle to prevent rollovers. ”
Daily Business Review
November 21, 2005
Lance was a star althelete and his friend, the one driving was the valedictorian of his highschool. $61 million dollars doesn’t even come close to being the value of his life. As long as it was profitable for Ford to ignore the safety standards. Last year they posted $171.65 billion in revenue. Just for comparision that $61 million represents .035% of their total revenue. How many lives do you think they they estimated they could afford?
November 22nd, 2005 at 10:58 am
That’s may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. While you’re at it, look at it from the other side and, in good conscious, deny that the biggest factor in this tragedy is that someone fell asleep at the wheel. I guess it’s too bad the driver didn’t have $61M.
And they’re only getting a small percentage of their revenue? Wow, it’s OK if it’s only for a little bit.
November 22nd, 2005 at 6:20 pm
A valedictorian who’s not smart enough to stay awake while driving. What does that say about our school system.
November 22nd, 2005 at 9:19 pm
That intellect and common sense have little or nothing to do with each other.
November 28th, 2005 at 2:57 pm
[…] Here’s one for everyone’s favorite “conservative,” who I hear is also a big fan of SUVs. The bad news is that if you ride in one and the driver falls asleep at the wheel, you might end up getting killed in an accident. The good news is that if this happens, your family will get filthy rich. Via Uncle. […]