| |
CASES & INVESTIGATIONS |
|
| |
|
|
| |
GENERAL INFORMATION |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
Ford Rollover Accident Lawyer | Attorney - 2008 Update on SUV Safety Issues |
|
| 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 2004, the Ford
Explorer SportTrac received the worst rollover
rating of any 2004 SUV model tested by
the government. |
| In the federal court
lawsuit In re Bridgestone / Firestone, Inc.
Tires Products Liability Litigation, MDL
Docket No. 1373, Lieff Cabraser serves on the
court-appointed Plaintffs' Executive Committee.
Plaintiffs brought claims against Firestone
for manufacturing tires prone to suffer tread
separation. The master complaint also named
Ford Motor Company as a defendant. The complaint
alleged that the Ford Explorer SUV was defective
because it had an unreasonable tendency to
roll over. |
| The Ford Explorer
is the successor to the Ford Bronco II. In
the late 1980s, Consumer Reports published
an article that was critical of the Bronco
II's safety performance and advised consumer
to avoid purchasing the Bronco II. The Explorer
was introduced to the U.S. market in 1990. |
| In lawsuits filed
by Lieff Cabraser and co-counsel, the complaints
charge that Ford's internal testing revealed
that the Explorer, like the Bronco II, had
significant handling and stability defects.
As alleged in the master complaint (paragraphs
64-66) of the federal court lawsuit: |
The
testing showed the Explorer was prone to
rollovers when equipped with tires inflated
to the manufacturer's recommended inflation
pressure. |
|
| |
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. |
|
|
| Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP represents persons
injured in vehicle accidents. Click
here to submit your
case. |
|
|
|
|
An
internal Ford Test Report dated November 25,
1988, showed, for example, that the Explorer
lifted two wheels off the ground while cornering
at 55 miles per hour due to a combination of
the vehicle's high center of gravity, its fully
inflated tires, and the suspension system structure.
In so-called "J-turn
testing," the Explorer rolled over in
5 of 12 tests, while the Chevrolet Blazer (the
Explorer's main competitor) and even the problematic
Bronco II experienced no similar rollovers. |
In
a June 15, 1989, internal memo to Ford management,
Ford engineers recommended eight design changes
to address the rollover problem and improve
the safety of the Explorer.... Making
these changes would have taken ten months
or more, which would have delayed the planned
launch of the Explorer. Ford management directed
the engineers to make only those minor changes
that would not affect production deadlines.
Ford understood that such minor changes would
not correct the stability and handling problems
identified during the Explorer's development. |
| Injured drivers and passengers,
and the families of loved ones who have died
in rollover crashes, have brought claims against
Ford for negligence by producing a Bronco,
Expedition or other Ford SUV vehicle with an
unreasonable risk of rolling over. |
|
|
|
|
|
There
is no charge or obligation
for our
review of your case. |
|
We
have a nationwide
team of experienced auto
defect and car accident
lawyers assigned
to our vehicle injury
cases. |
|
We
have retained leading
national car crash
and auto defect experts. |
|
|
We
have on staff a team
of
legal assistants, investigators
and nurses to assist
in the prosecution
of the claims of our
clients. |
|
We
provide individual
attentive service.
Learn
more about our firm. |
|
|
|
| The suits have also alleged
other defects with Ford SUVs, including that the
roofs are weak and should be strengthened to avoid
roof collapse and fatal head and neck injuries
in rollover accidents. |
| A number of potential
safety issues and vehicle defects can contribute
to the occurance of SUV rollovers and lead to serious
injury or death in the event of a rollover accident.
Potential safety issues include: |
- The vehicle is defective in its handling
and stability because it is top-heavy and prone
to heavy oversteering by drivers, making a
rollover accident likely;
- The vehicle is equipped with defective door
latches that are too weak to hold the doors
shut in a rollover accident, causing passengers
to be ejected from these vehicles;
- The roof-strength of the SUV is deficient,
resulting in a collapse of the roof in a rollover
accident;
- The vehicle is not equipped with laminated
safety glass which would help prevent passengers
from being ejected in SUV rollovers; and
- The seat belts are defective because they
do not automatically retract and tighten during
an accident.
|
| Lieff Cabraser represents
persons who have been injured or killed as a result
of a Ford Explorer accident, whether due to a rollover
accident, crushed roof, door latch problem, 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. |
| 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. |
|
|
|
| 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. |
| Disclaimer: The
hiring of an auto accident lawyer is an important decision. Please read our attorney
advertising disclaimer. |
|
| Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP |
|
|
|