Ford may have to pay a $1.7B lawsuit settlement in Georgia on one of their F-250 Super Duty pickups

[hpman66]

Ford Tough doesn’t seem to apply to the roofs in F-250 Ford pickup cabs. There’s a $1.7B lawsuit settlement that Ford may have to pay in Georgia.

https://www.google.com/search?q=for...KABAcgBCLgBA8ABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

 

[Colonialgirl]

Another instance of a ridiculous award ; It would indicate that ALL passenger vehicles be made as solid steel cages complete with roll bars.

 

[kmoore]

You really need to drill down more than a paragraph about a case like this to make any sense of it. If the auto maker build a vehicle that did not met the crash test standards for that year the vehicle was made. Then the auto maker should owe every dollar. But it could be it met that standard and that standard was not good enough. Then who should be blamed the feds or the auto maker. Well the auto maker is always the big easy target. No matter who makes a auto, people will die in them. It's to bad, but it's a reality. They should be as safe as possible under normal means of use.

Followed up with before the money if it's paid out, Ford will place as much blame on the driver as possible. And they should if facts like the tire that blew was under inflated, to old to be considered safe, wrong size etc. Driver was driving to fast, not using seat belt etc etc.

 

[txramfan]

Ford was found 70% responsible and Pep Boys 30% for the accident. I found it strange Pep Boys wasn't part of the lawsuit nor was the tire manufacturer.

 

[RSIno1]

..... If the auto maker build a vehicle that did not met the crash test standards for that year the vehicle was made. Then the auto maker should owe every dollar. .

Every manufacturer builds and certifies to the spec .gov dictates. But they still get sued for oddball accidents that aren't taken into account during the crash tests. The tire failure could have slewed the truck so it hit at an odd (unplanned) angle. EPA mileage requirements have caused more deaths than anything else. Look at the tanks they built in the 50s and 60s. Now today the goal is to make everything lighter to get better mileage.
I worked on the "Truth About Trucks" video series for Ford. We cut apart Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota trucks and compared them. The Ford was the strongest. At one point the new regs came in for increased passenger protection. Ford, Chevy, Toyota had all put them in place a year early and all exceeded the requirement. The Dodge frame just met the standard and all they had done was increase the thickness 0.010 and made the C section 3/4" taller under the cab area.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I haven't seen this whole story but the case sounds like one a client told me about. He was called for jury duty and got on a case where someone had taken one of the hardtop Jeeps (like a Cherokee) over a cliff and it took 100 feet with several rolls through boulders to get it stopped. Jeep was pretty flat when they retrieved it. If memory serves, driver survived but was pretty bashed up.

Lawsuit wanted several milliion because the driver got scrunched down by the top of the vehicle. Jury was looking like they'd go for it. My client had been in the auto parts business for 20 plus years and had a little understanding of vehicles and their failings. He said he had to talk himself blue in the face to swing the jury. He had to simplify his argument to "Cars aren't designed to be driven upside down..."

Plaintiff lost in the end.

Rick C