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CASES & INVESTIGATIONS |
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Ford Explorer Rollover Lawsuit - 2008 Update |
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| The safety of the
Ford SUVs became a nationwide concern in 2000.
More than 200 deaths and 700 injuries in the
United States were blamed on Ford Explorers rolling
over after the tread separated on Firestone tires
with which the Explorers had been equipped. |
| In 2005, the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety issued a report
finding that the two-door, two-wheel drive
Ford Explorer made between 1999 and 2002 had
the fourth highest rate of driver death of
the 47 SUVs that were part of the study. |
- In November 2006, a jury awarded the
Oklahoma family of a teenager who died
in a Ford Rollover accident $15 million
in a lawsuit against Ford. The jury found
that the teen was killed because the Ford
Explorer's roof was too weak to withstand
a rollover.
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- In early 2006, further support that the
Explorer is unstable and can flip over
during sudden driving maneuvers surfaced
in an Explorer rollover trial in Mississippi.
Ford's test results of replacement tires
for the Explorer, introduced as evidence
in the trial, indicated that the vehicle
is unstable not only on Firestone tires
but also on tires made by Goodyear, Michelin's
Uniroyal, Continental and other manufacturers.
Some of the failed tires had been approved
by Ford as replacement brands.
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- In
September 2005, a Texas jury
found that Ford Motor Co. should pay
$42 million to the family of a 10-year-old
boy who was killed when he was partly
ejected from a Ford Expedition in a 2004
rollover accident. The boy, Matthew Marroquin,
was wearing his seat belt when the vehicle's
side window shattered and the boy hit
the ground as it rolled, his family said.
The suit is one of a growing number claiming
automakers should have used stronger
glass in side and rear windows to prevent
ejections and partial ejections. The
family's attorneys said laminated glass
would have protected the boy.
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12/3/07 Case
Update:
The California Superior Court
granted preliminary approval to a settlement
in class action lawsuits by owners of
model year 1990-2001 Ford Explorers in
four states -- California, Illinois,
Texas and Connecticut -- against Ford
Motor Company alleging Ford made false
claims regarding the safety of these
Explorers. Learn more about the proposed
settlement and how to make claims. |
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| Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP represents persons
injured in vehicle accidents. Click
here to submit your
case. |
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- In March 2005, a jury found Ford responsible
for the deaths of Corina Garcia and Diana Alicia
of Crystal City, Texas. The jury was presented
evidence that the 2000 Ford Explorer was defective
in its design because Ford used tempered side
glass instead of laminated safety glass. Available
for decades, laminated glass substantially
reduces the risk of passengers being ejected
in a rollover accident.
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- In August 2004, Ford settled a rollover death
case involving its Explorer as a jury was considering
whether to award punitive damages. Earlier,
the jury in Fort Meyers, Florida, awarded the
family of victim Bob Miller $5.3 million in
compensatory damages. Miller was on his way
home from his roofing job and was wearing his
seat belt and a hard hat when a tire lots its
tread, causing the Explorer to swerve and then
flip over.
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- In June 2004, a jury in San Diego, California,
returned the first plaintiff's verdict in a
lawsuit challenging the safety of the Ford
Explorer. The plaintiff, Benetta Buell-Wilson,
was left paralyzed when the roof of her 1997
Ford Explorer caved in after it rolled over
when she swerved to avoid an object in the
road. Buell Wilson charged that the Ford Explorer
was unstable and had a weak roof.
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| Lieff Cabraser represents
persons who have been injured or killed as
a result of Ford Explorer and other SUV accidents,
whether due to a rollover accident, crushed
roof, door latch problem, lack of laminated
windows, seatbelt failure, or a combination
of these or other factors. Please click
here to contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney. |
| Alternatively, you
may call Lieff Cabraser toll-free at 1-866-313-1973
and ask to speak to partner Kathryn E. Barnett. |
| Californians who bought,
owned or leased 1991-2001 model year Ford Explorers
before August 9, 2000 may be affected by a
class action lawsuit. |
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is no charge or obligation
for our
review of your case. |
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have a nationwide
team of experienced auto
defect and car accident
lawyers assigned
to our vehicle injury
cases. |
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We
have retained leading
national car crash
and auto defect experts. |
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We
have on staff a team
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legal assistants, investigators
and nurses to assist
in the prosecution
of the claims of our
clients. |
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We
provide individual
attentive service.
Learn
more about our firm. |
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| Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP, is a national law firm of over 50 lawyers with offices in San Francisco,
New York and Nashville. Our attorneys are recognized
for the successful prosecution of lawsuits involving deaths, personal injuries
and property damage due to defective products, including in the field of vehicle
safety. |
| In 2007, in the case
of Mraz
v. DaimlerChrysler, Lieff Cabraser
attorneys, with local co-counsel, obtained
the fourth largest verdict in California for
the year. At trial, plaintiffs showed that
a defective
transmission was responsible for making
a Dodge Dakota pickup shift into reverse and
run over Richard Mraz. |
| Currently, we are
prosecuting personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving cars, vans,
pickup trucks, SUVs, the Yamaha Rhino and other
vehicles. To learn more about the firm, click
here. |
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| Trademark Notice:
Vehicle Injuries.com is an electronic newsletter from Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP, a national personal injury attorney | lawyer law firm. |
| Lieff Cabraser is not
affiliated in any way with any trademark owner. The use of any trademarks on
this site is for product identification and information purposes only. |
| About Lieff Cabraser:
Drivers and passengers injured in auto crashes and pickup truck and SUV rollover
accidents, or families of loved ones who died, may be eligible to file lawsuits
against other drivers at fault or against the manufacturer of their vehicle if
the accident was due to a safety defect. Safety defects can include a high risk
of rolling
over, tire tread
separation, seat
belt failures and other defects. Learn
more... |
| We have offices in San
Francisco, New York and Nashville.
Our car crash accident lawyers and auto accident attorneys have represented
clients in personal injury, auto accident, SUV rollover and vehicle safety defect
lawsuits across America, including persons living in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming. |
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| Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP |
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