March 24, 2008

Six Injured In San Bernardino Chevy Suburban Rollover Accident

A rollover crash in San Bernardino, which officials say was caused by speed and unsafe lane changes, sent six people to the hospital. According to a news report in the San Bernardino Sun, witnesses told police that the driver of a Honda Civic cut off a Chevy Suburban while making a turn. The driver of the Suburban then reportedly made a lane change and lost control causing the vehicle to rollover, the report said.

The crash caused minor to moderate injuries to four people in the Suburban and two in the Civic. The Suburban hit a Jeep Cherokee as it flipped over, but thankfully the driver of the Jeep did not suffer any injuries.

It is a miracle that this accident did not result in catastrophic injuries. It seems as if the driver of the Honda Civic was who triggered this rollover accident, but had the Chevy Suburban been better designed, it would not have flipped over. The Suburban has been known to cause serious injuries in rollover accidents because of its weak roof that caves in when it flips. The roof crushes the occupants within leaving them with severe traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries. The occupants of the Suburban are very fortunate that they did not suffer major injuries.

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March 14, 2008

Stronger Roofs Will Save Lives In SUV Rollover Accidents

It turns out that personal injury attorneys and advocacy groups were right all along on the issue of SUV rollover and roof crush. A study released this week by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) reveals beyond doubt that there is a definite connection between a vehicle’s roof strength and passenger safety. The study concludes that more than 200 deaths could have been prevented in rollover accidents in 2006 had the roofs been stronger, an article in USA Today reports.

Here’s an excellent example to help you visualize what these guys mean when they say “roof strength.” When the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2000 Nissan Xterra were subjected to the crushing force of up to 10,000 pounds, the Xterra’s roof crushed about 2 inches while the Grand Cherokee’s roof crushed 10 inches, according to the study. And still some carmakers deny there is any connection between roof strength and passenger safety. The Ford Explorer performed even worse, especially the 1996 to 2001 model years.

The study was released even as federal officials in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) are preparing to come out with more rigorous standards to test roof strength. But these have been a long time coming. NHTSA has been talking about new roof strength standards for a decade and proposed new standards two years ago but nothing has been implemented. The standards have not been updated in nearly 30 years giving auto makers like Ford the excuse that they have been complying with the federal standard.

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March 12, 2008

Ford Loses Appeal In $82.6 Million Explorer Rollover Lawsuit

Ford Motor Company has lost an appeal in an $82.6 million lawsuit involving an Explorer rollover accident, which left Benetta Buell-Wilson, a mother of two, paralyzed from the waist down. Ford’s attorneys had previously succeeded in reducing a $109 million damage award to $82.6 million. But an appellate court in San Diego has ruled that Buell-Wilson was entitled the reduced award, out of which $55 million was punitive damages, according to a Dow Jones news report.

The 4th District Court of Appeal took on the case after the U.S. Supreme Court asked the appellate court to review it. Ford had appealed the award arguing that they were being unfairly punished even though its design met federal vehicle safety standards. Buell-Wilson was reportedly driving her 1997 Ford Explorer on a freeway in San Diego when she lost control of her vehicle while swerving to avoid some debris on the road. Her Explorer rolled over four and a half times and the roof of the SUV collapsed on her neck severing her spine.

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March 6, 2008

2 Dead, 6 Injured In Arizona Ford Expedition Rollover Crash

Two people died and six suffered severe injuries after their 2003 Ford Expedition lost control and ran off Interstate 19 in Tucson, ramming into a tree. According to reports on KOLD News’ Web site, Idalia Montano, 34, and Margarita Gonzalo Leon, 55, died in the SUV rollover crash. Both women reportedly did not wear a seatbelt, according to the Tucson Citizen. In fact, the article states that other than the driver, no one in the Expedition was wearing a seatbelt, including four children who were in the vehicle, ages 11, 10, 4 and 1.

Officials are looking into why the Expedition went off the highway. It’s really unfortunate that a majority of occupants were not buckled up – not even the children. But the fact that they were traveling in a Ford Expedition also raises some questions. We just got off a case involving one of our clients, Gloria Levesque, who was severely injured in an Expedition crash and rendered paraplegic. Her trial ended in a hung jury, but soon after, Ford settled for an undisclosed amount.

Our firm has conducted several crash tests involving Ford sport utility vehicles such as the Explorer and Expedition. About 10,000 people die each year in the United States in rollover accidents. We have particularly found that Ford SUVs are unstable, ineffective and fail to protect their occupants, especially in rollover accidents. These vehicles have been known to tip over even in moderate speeds. What happens when the vehicle flips over is the weak roof caves in on the driver or the passenger, crushing their head and spine causing catastrophic injuries.

Our client, who had been a teacher at a Montessori school for 25 years before her accident in 2003, will remain unemployed, disabled, dependent and catastrophically injured for the rest of her life. And it’s aggravating to think that Ford could have strengthened that roof for about $30.

February 29, 2008

Florida Jury Awards $11 Million To Parents of SUV Rollover Victim

A Florida jury has ordered auto maker Mitsubishi to pay $11 million in compensatory damages to a couple whose son was killed after being partially ejected from the Montero sport utility vehicle that rolled over, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The lawsuit brought against Mitsubishi by Donna and Peter Laliberte, alleged that the carmaker put its Montero SUV on the market in spite of knowing about problems with the seatbelt.

Their 25-year-old son, Scott, was thrown backward through the rear window in the SUV rollover crash, which occurred nearly four years ago. Scott was a passenger in the vehicle and was reportedly wearing his seatbelt. Jurors were convinced after attorneys argued that Mitsubishi took the unprecedented step of releasing a new version of the Montero halfway through the 2000 model year to fix those problems. But Mitsubishi officials never told consumers about the seatbelt defect in their earlier model.

Attorneys for the auto maker still denied that, which is typical. However, they did acknowledge that the changes in the Montero happened because of “poor crash test results,” the newspaper reported. Jurors awarded the couple $10 million for pain and suffering and the rest for funeral expenses and losses. The newspaper also reported that the trial was emotional for jurors and that many of them embraced the couple teary-eyed after the verdict.

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February 28, 2008

Ford Settles Expedition Rollover Accident Case After Three Week Trial

Ford Motor Company has agreed to an out-of court settlement in an automobile defect/rollover accident case that we have been pursuing for our client, Gloria Levesque. She was seriously injured in a Ford Expedition rollover accident five years ago and rendered quadriplegic. The initial trial in Los Angeles Superior Court lasted three weeks and ended in a hung jury last December.

Of course, we’re pleased that Ford decided to settle with our client for an amount that is being kept confidential pursuant to Ford’s condition of settlement. But the more important fact in this case is that Ford’s top officials know – and have known for a very long time – that the roofs of their sport utility vehicles leave much to be desired in terms of strength. What happened to our client has happened to thousands of others.

The roofs of Ford’s SUVs such as the Explorer and Expedition are made so weak that they cave in during a rollover accident. Gloria’s accident happened on the 5 Freeway in Fresno County. She was a passenger in the vehicle. The driver swerved to avoid a collision, lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over many times. The Expedition roof collapsed and crushed inward causing her severe head and spinal injuries leaving her quadriplegic.

This is a classic case of Ford putting their financial interests ahead of consumer safety. They could have made that roof withstand a rollover accident for as little as $30, about what they charge for a chrome exhaust tip! How many unnecessary deaths has such skimping caused? Had Ford been a little more safety conscious Gloria would still have full use of her arms and legs. Now, she needs full-time care for the rest of her life and has no capacity to be employed. The settlement funds will help but they will not restore what she lost.

We consider this a victory for our client and more importantly, for justice. It’s cases such as these that constantly sound the warning bell to manufacturers such as Ford that they will be held accountable for the decisions they make in the board room.

February 26, 2008

Fresno Fatal Rollover Crash Kills 1, Injures 4

One man died and four Fresno State football players were injured after their car veered off Highway 99 in Selma and rolled over. Terren Hall, 18, the only one who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, died in the crash after he was ejected from the 1998 Ford during the rollover crash. According to an article posted on the local ABC News Web site, investigators are looking into whether the driver lost control of the vehicle because a big-rig may have cut him off.

Those injured were the driver Jermaine C. Thomas, 19, of Duarte; Isian Green, 18, Sharrod Davis, 22 and Terrance Dennis, 19 – all football players from Cal State Fresno, the Fresno Bee newspaper reports. Thomas was reportedly the one who told investigators that the big-rig cut him off and sent him careening off the roadway.

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February 21, 2008

Orange County Woman Dies in Jeep Wrangler Rollover Accident

A 52-year-old Costa Mesa woman is dead after she was ejected from her Jeep Wrangler, which rolled over on the northbound 5 Freeway near Avenida Vaquero in San Clemente, The Orange County Register reports. Gloria Ann Weaver reportedly died in the rollover accident. Officials are still not clear what caused the accident and why the vehicle flipped, the article states.

There is no mention in the article whether or not she was wearing a seatbelt. Officials are still investigating, but I hope they don’t jump to the conclusion that she was not wearing a seatbelt just because she was ejected from the vehicle. Many times traffic accident reports will jump to the conclusion that an ejected occupant of a vehicle in an accident wasn’t wearing a seatbelt simply because they were ejected.

Our law firm has been involved with dozens of auto accident cases where an official accident report states that an ejected person wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, yet our experts on close examination of the involved seatbelt system, found evidence of use at the time of the accident and/or failure of the system. My partner, Brian Chase, is one of the most knowledgeable seatbelt failure attorneys in the country. Personal injury attorneys from all over the country consult with him on their seatbelt failure cases.

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December 5, 2007

Woman Killed In Ford Explorer Rollover Crash In Fontana

Officials suspect it could’ve been caused by road rage or street racing

A 29-year-old woman was killed after her 1999 Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle veered off the 15 Freeway in Fontana, causing her car to flip several times. According to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the crash was reportedly caused by road rage or street racing.

The newspaper reported that Lauda Young, 28, and Maxine Ferry, 29, were both driving in separate vehicles south on the 15 Freeway. According to eyewitness accounts, both women were traveling at a high rate of speed – 80 to 85 miles an hour. At one point, Young cut off Ferry with her 2004 Toyota Corolla in the slow lane leaving no more than three to five feet between the two vehicles, the article stated.

Ferry was forced into the dirt on the right shoulder because Young was tapping on her brakes while driving in front of Ferry, California Highway Patrol officials said. It was then that the Explorer veered back on to the road and began to fishtail. But at this point the Explorer was reportedly way out of control. Back on the shoulder, the SUV rolled over three or four times before it came to a stop.

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December 3, 2007

Defective Ford Expedition Trial Starts Today in Los Angeles

Gloria Levesque is getting her day in court today. Gloria was catastrophically injured in an auto accident when the Ford Expedition she was a passenger in rolled over and the roof caved in crushing her. As a result of the roof crushing in on her, Gloria suffered severe head and spinal injuries. She is permanently disabled.

The auto product liability lawsuit, Gloria Levesque vs. Ford Motor Company, started today, December 3, 2007, in Los Angeles Superior Court, Central District, before the Honorable Ricardo Torres. Brian Chase, my partner and chief litigator for the firm, is heading Gloria's trial team.

Mr. Chase will offer evidence that Ford knowingly manufactured and sold the Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle (SUV) with a defective roof that collapses during rollover accidents. Gloria Levesque, was permanently paralyzed on July 25, 2003 when the Expedition she was a passenger in swerved to avoid a collision with a big rig and the Expedition rolled over several times. During the rollover, the roof crushed inward, causing her permanent head and spinal injuries.

We have been gathering evidence on this case and doing testing of the Ford Expedition for two years. I believe that the evidence will show that Ford knowingly chose corporate profits over the safety of their SUV's occupants. Could it be that an American auto maker would willingly ignore known catastrophic injury problems of their SUV just to improve their profits?

"Ford clearly put profit before people," says Brian Chase. "This is another example of an auto maker profiting from the production of a vehicle known to have serious and life threatening defects. For only $30, Ford could have easily strengthened their SUV's roof structure to withstand these types of rollover roof failures.

If only Ford had strengthened the Expeditions' roof structure along the lines that some of their engineers suggested, Gloria Levesque would be teaching at her Montessori school as she had for the past 25 years. Instead she is unemployed, permanently disabled, and catastrophically injured.

Our case against Ford alleges that Ford manipulates the general public into believing that their large SUVs are safer compared to other vehicles while knowing that their SUVs have one of the highest rates of rollover injuries and deaths of any vehicle on the road today.

"Ford's SUVs are not built strong enough to protect the front seat occupants from being catastrophically injured during a rollover, says Brian Chase. "Ford knows this and have for years. However, Ford chooses to ignore this inherent safety problem in order to save $30 per vehicle."

A jury of 12 Southern Californians are going to decide if Gloria's claims are true and weather she deserves compensation from Ford. Hooray for our justice system that gives a school teacher nearly equal standing as Ford, to present her grievances, to request Ford be held accountable and that justice be done.

Regardless of the outcome of this trial, please pray for Gloria and her family. Her paralysis and brain injury have turned her into a shadow of who she was and put a enormous strain on her family to take care of her. They could use your prayers and well wishes.

December 1, 2007

Is The Ford Explorer Settlement a Victory for the Consumer or Ford?

Big news out of Sacramento came late Wednesday afternoon. Ford Motor Co., which was facing a humungous class-action lawsuit involving a million consumers from four states, announced that a settlement has been reached and awaits approval by the court (http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/529480.html).

So what’s the deal? Consumers, who said in this class-action lawsuit that they were duped by Ford’s claims that the Explorer sport utility vehicle was a safe vehicle, will now qualify to apply for $500 discounts on a new Ford Explorer or $300 discounts other Ford vehicles. The settlement will apply to Explorers from model years 1991 to 2001. The lawsuit was brought forth by 414,000 Explorer owners in California, Illinois, Texas and Connecticut.

Thousands of deaths and injuries over the last decade have been suffered by occupants of Ford Explorers involved in rollover accidents. We have represented many of the injured and their families. As an example, on Monday, we are scheduled to start a trial against Ford in Los Angeles Superior Court. We are alleging that one of Ford’s poorly designed SUVs rolled over in an accident and the roof crushed in, paralyzing a passenger, Gloria Levesque. Gloria was a Montessori school teacher for 25 years before being catastrophically injured and permanently unemployable as a result of the accident.

So, really, who benefits from this class action lawsuit settlement? Maybe the attorneys, definitely Ford – but what about the consumers? Let’s look a little closer. How does a measly $500 or $300 discount toward another Ford vehicle compensate consumer, punish the manufacturer and prevent unsafe products from entering the American market place?

Pedro Morillas of the California Public Interest Research Group (www.calpirg.org) is quoted in a Sacramento Bee article as saying,” Five hundred million dollars does sound like a lot of money, but Ford may have gotten a better deal than they deserved.”

In some respects I agree with Morillas. If the case had not settled and the plaintiffs won, Ford, according to its lawyers, would be in bankruptcy. It may not have been able to pay the judgment. It that sense Ford may have gotten a better deal than they deserve.

This lawsuit should’ve aimed to make sure that Ford was punished for producing defective vehicles and ensure that no auto manufacturer in the future would dare market an unsafe product to the American public. To take it further, it should been a warning to every manufacturer that pushing any unsafe product into the American market place will not be tolerated and the manufacturer will be held accountable.

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November 21, 2007

Orange County Girl Dies in DUI Crash When Ford Explorer Rolls Over

Natasha Dannov, by all accounts a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky teenager from Fountain Valley, died early Sunday morning in an auto accident on the Interstate 5 when the 2000 Ford Explorer she was a passenger in, rolled over near Oceanside.

According to an article in The Orange County Register, Dannov’s best friend of 10 years, Marian Teri Kahale, also 18, who was driving the Explorer at the time, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter.

The girls had reportedly gone to a party Saturday night at Mission Viejo where they had been drinking, according to Dannov’s mother, Isabelle, who was quoted in the Register article. Around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, the teens were on their way home when Kahale realized she was heading south near Oceanside on the I-5 instead of north. It was around that time that Kahale reportedly lost control of the sport utility vehicle.

The Explorer careened off the freeway, overturned and struck a guardrail ejecting Dannov, who was sleeping in the car without wearing her seatbelt. She was pronounced dead at the scene by Camp Pendleton fire officials, the newspaper reported. Kahale survived with moderate injuries, but was arrested and detained with bail set at $250,000. The state Alcohol Beverages Control Board and the CHP are also reportedly looking into who provided alcohol to the teens over a 24-hour period before the crash. Both were obviously underage.

This is yet another tragic incident that is heartbreaking not only for the Dannov family, but also the Kahale family given how close the two girls were. It seems as if a lot of young people think they are invincible when it comes to drunk driving. There is the general feeling and attitude of: “It won’t happen to me” or “I can handle it.” These are but illusions. An impaired driver is just that – someone who will not be able to handle the vehicle and puts not only his or her life in jeopardy, but also the passengers riding with them as well as other drivers on the road.

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November 20, 2007

Rollover Accidents Round-Up

Rollover traffic accidents are more common, more prevalent and more dangerous than any one of us can even imagine. About 10,000 people die every year in the United States as a result of these types of auto accidents. Here’s a compilation of rollover accidents that happened this month across the nation:

Jeep Rollover: A 28-year-old woman from the Flint area of Michigan died after her Jeep rolled over when she and others were out four-wheeling in a large semi-rural backyard, according to a blog in the Flint Journal. The man who was driving the Jeep was injured, but in stable condition.

Fatal Rollover: A rollover accident on the Interstate 290 in Chicago left one person dead, according to an article on CBS News’ Web site. It was a one-vehicle crash and no one else was injured. Three freeway lanes were shut down, the report said.

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November 12, 2007

Florida Appeals Court Reverses $60 Million Jury Award Against Ford in Explorer Rollover Crash

A Florida Appeals Court has overturned a record $60 million jury verdict awarded to the parents of a 17-year-old boy who died after the 1996 Ford Explorer he was a passenger in rolled over, according to a Bloomberg News report. Lance Hall’s parents claimed in their product liability lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. that the Explorer sport utility vehicle’s design defects made it unstable.

A Miami jury in November 2005 awarded the Halls $61 million, making it the largest award against an auto maker that year. The trial court reduced that award by $1 million, the news report said. But last week, the appellate court completely negated the jury award and ordered a new trial because the panel said the trial court erred in allowing the Halls’ attorneys to present evidence of deaths and injuries in other Explorer rollovers without having them show similarities between the different accidents, the Bloomberg report said.

The Hall family reportedly plans to appeal this decision to the Florida Supreme Court. The plaintiff’s attorney said that they are prepared to go back to the trial court and fight Ford all over again if the Supreme Court rejects their appeal or does not consider it. Ford maintains that Hall died not because of defects in the Explorer, but because the driver of the vehicle fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.

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August 20, 2007

Defective GMC Jimmy Kills Texas Woman?

Here is a story that smells like an auto defect case.

Friday morning, August 17th, a Plainview, Texas woman was killed in a single-car rollover accident in a 1992 GMC Jimmy according to an article on LubbuckOnline.com. The article quoted Cpl. John Gonzalez of the Department of Public Safety who said Elizabeth Ponce, 47 years old, was wearing a seatbelt when her GMC Jimmy skidded into a ditch and rolled twice, landing on its roof. He further stated that alcohol and weather were not believed to be factors in the accident.

GMC Jimmys are notoriously unstable. They roll over much too easily in situations where they should stay upright. They are unsafe. Our law firm has been successful in a slew of lawsuits against GMC regarding the rollover propensities of their SUVs. I have no idea how many other lawsuits there have been but I'd guess the number is in the hundreds.

OK, so the Jimmy rolled over. Why did Elizabeth Ponce die? She was not ejected. She was seat belted in.

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August 11, 2007

Ford Expedition Rollover Kills One, Injures Seven in New Mexico

A 9-year-old Orange County girl was killed and seven others were critically injured after their Ford Expedition rolled over on a New Mexico highway, The Orange County Register reported. Cynthia Munoz of Santa Ana was pronounced dead on the scene and the other injured members were transported to local hospitals, the article said.

According to the news report, the driver of the 2003 Ford Expedition told officials that the vehicle began to “shake violently” and he lost control. The girl and her 15-year-old sister, neither wearing a seat belt (according to the report), were both ejected from the vehicle as it rolled over several times. Officials say neither speed nor alcohol seems to have played a role in this accident, the Register reported.

The Munoz family is going to need an expert analysis of what caused this accident to determine if it is the fault of the vehicle or one of its components. The “shaking violently” could be a tire separation, a wheel coming off, a suspension issue or a number of other less likely causes. Only through examination of the accident sequence and the vehicle its self can a determination of the likely causes for this accident be known.

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August 9, 2007

Ford Explorer Rollover Kills Mother of Two in Northern California

A 39-year-old woman died in a Ford Explorer rollover accident Friday on the Interstate 5 in the Willows area of Northern California, according to a news article in the Oroville Mercury Register. The woman, identified as Rhonda Johnson, was driving back home with her two sons – ages 4 and 10 – when she lost control of her Ford Explorer. The sport utility vehicle rolled over and landed upside down in the center divider, the article stated. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene and her two boys were taken to a local hospital. One of the children was air-lifted while the other was taken by ambulance, the newspaper reported.

Another Ford Explorer tragedy – this time, it snatches a mother away from her two young sons. And what’s even sadder and more depressing is this is not going to be the last time someone dies from such a rollover crash, especially by driving a poorly-designed vehicle. Every year, 10,000 people in the United States die in these rollover collisions. At least 16,000 people suffer catastrophic injuries as a result of such crashes. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates there are at least 40,000 rollovers in United States highways each year.

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July 10, 2007

Ford Excursion Rollover Fatal to Orange County Passenger

A 21-year-old man died in the early morning of July 1st, 2007 after the sport utility vehicle in which he was a passenger, flipped over on the freeway, according to an article in The Orange County Register.

Cesar Sanchez was reportedly ejected from the Ford Excursion after the SUV rolled over at about 1:22 a.m. as the vehicle was traveling eastbound on the 91 Freeway to the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway transition.

The driver of the Excursion, whose name was not released, lost control of the SUV for an unknown reason, California Highway Patrol officials told the newspaper. After the driver lost control and turned sharply off the shoulder, the Excursion flipped three times throwing Sanchez out of the vehicle. He was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana where he was
pronounced dead shortly thereafter. No information was released about the driver’s identity or his condition. Also, it is not known whether Sanchez was wearing his seatbelt when the SUV rolled over.

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