CA - Ford Explorer rollover victim wins $369M verdict

SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- A jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay nearly $369 million to a woman paralyzed in a rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer, the nation's best-selling sport utility vehicle.

The jury Thursday ordered the No. 2 automaker to pay $246 million in punitive damages. It awarded more than $122.6 million in compensatory damages Tuesday.

The award is one of the biggest ever against the automaker and marked the first loss after 11 victories in rollover lawsuits involving the Ford Explorer.

Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, has said it will appeal.

The trial involved a January 2002 accident east of San Diego. Driver Benetta Buell-Wilson swerved to avoid a metal object and lost control of her 1997 Explorer, which rolled 41/2 times.

During a news conference after the verdict, Buell-Wilson, a 49-year-old mother of two, offered to knock $100 million off the damage award if Ford would fix the design problems in the Explorer that left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

"I'm hoping they'll fix what's out there because I don't want what's happened to me to happen to anyone else," Buell-Wilson said Thursday.

In a statement, Ford insisted the Explorer was safe.

"Although the offer makes a great sound bite, it doesn't change the facts: The Explorer meets or exceeds all Federal safety standards. There is no defect with the Explorer," spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/03/ford.rollover.ap/index.html

Well this jury guaranteed that this plaintiff won't see a dime for years and years.

It stinks, but I hope she keeps going. I have a Ford Van, and it has a bunch of known problems that Ford will not correct, unless you find out about them during warranty period. Even though Ford Motor company knows it is a known defect, if it is after the warranty, they wont fix it. Several years back, the known defect that the head gasket would blow went to court with a lot of owners, but it took some major action for Ford to pay up.

I'll never buy a Ford again. I knew better.

My son own's a Ford Explorer........he call's it a Ford Exploder!

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mama

There has never been any evidence to suggest Ford vehicles are unsafe. Ford is the best manufacturer when it comes to recalling known troublesome areas in vehicles. I don't believe in these law suits.