Myers v. Ford Motor Company
Barbara Myers was driving a 1991 Ford Aerostar on July 15, 2001 with six other passengers. She lost control of the vehicle on Highway I-10 outside of Houston, Texas. The Aerostar rolled over on-road and over a bridge embankment into the San Jacinto River. There were five fatalities and two persons were injured, including Mrs. Myers. Plaintiff's primary allegations were that the Aerostar becomes dangerously unstable when loaded with passengers and luggage and that Ford failed to warn of this danger.
The case went to trial in September, 2010. After a two week trial, the jury returned a verdict against Ford. The jury returned the verdict in favor of Mrs. Myers on her negligent design and negligent failure to warn claims. The jury also determined that Ford's conduct was sufficiently egregious to warrant a punitive damages award. While the jury was deliberating the amount of punitive damages, the parties settled the case.
Watkins v. Ford
Over the years, the firm has represented numerous victims of Ford Bronco II rollovers and is known as one of the leading plaintiffs' firms for Bronco II rollover litigation. In all, we have successfully litigated over twenty cases involving rollovers of Ford Bronco II vehicles.
One of those cases was brought on behalf of James and Belinda Watkins for the death of their son, Brian. The case ended up going before the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The appellate court stated that the firm "presented an array of evidence addressing Ford's knowledge of stability problems with the Bronco II and its decision to forgo recommended safety alterations in the design because it would either delay production or profits would be sacrificed." Based on this evidence, the court found that "Ford made profit a priority over the safety of the consumers. Such evidence has supported findings of a reckless disregard for property or life." Watkins v. Ford Motor Company, 190 F.3d 1213 (11th Cir. 1999). After the Eleventh Circuit's damning opinion, Ford agreed to pay the Watkins family a significant confidential sum to settle the case.
Bell v. Ford
Busbin v. Ford
Williams v. Ford
In addition to Bronco II litigation, the firm has also been active in pursuing cases involving rollovers of Ford Explorers. In each of these cases, occupants of Explorers either died or sustained severe injuries when the Explorer went out of control and rolled over due to handling and stability defects. The firm has aggressively and successfully sued Ford on behalf of these victims and their families and obtained considerable confidential settlements for each of them.
Amburgey v. Ford
Natalie and James Amburgey and their three daughters were riding in their 1999 Ford Expedition when, due to design defects in the Expedition, it rolled over and seriously injured all of the occupants. We brought suit against Ford and obtained significant confidential settlements for each of the Amburgeys.
Pompey v. Isuzu
Sherman v. Isuzu
In each of these cases, we represented the families of people who were killed when the Isuzu Rodeo they were riding in rolled over. Through aggressive discovery against Isuzu, we proved that the rollovers were caused by the defective design of the Rodeo. The families received sizable confidential settlements in each case.
Bone v. Mitsubishi
Gordon v. Mitsubishi
In these cases, Danelle Bone and Kathryn Gordon were severely injured when their Mitsubishi Montero Sports rolled over due to design defects. After intensive litigation and investigation by our firm, Mitsubishi agreed to pay our clients significant confidential sums to compensate them for their injuries.
Armour v. Toyota
Debbie Armour's daughter was a passenger in a Toyota 4Runner that rolled over on the highway. The firm established that the rollover was caused by the defective design of the 4Runner, and Toyota agreed to compensate Ms. Armour with a substantial confidential sum.
Adcock v. Honda
Larry Adcock was rendered quadriplegic when his 1999 Honda Civic CRX rolled over and the roof crushed down on his head. The firm was able to show that the roof was too weak and that it was inadequately tested by Honda. Mr. Adcock received a substantial confidential settlement.
