Product Liability Law Blog

A woman whose trailer home caught on fire when her neighbor's Ford F-150 pickup caught fire is suing the automaker for Illinois automotive products liability. Guadalupe Mendez lost her home on September 12, 2006. At the time, the trailer house, which she had bought four years before, was nearly paid off. Losing her house left her and her two sounds, then 13 and 9, with a car and the clothes on their back.

In her Illinois auto defect lawsuit, Mendez Is accusing Ford of knowing that there was something wrong with the switch for the truck's cruise control system but doing nothing to remedy the problem. Mendez's believes that this auto defect is what started the fire.

Mendez is not the first person to file an auto products liability complaint against Ford over this safety issue. Similar auto defect lawsuits have been filed in Texas, Michigan, and San Francisco. Also a defendant in Mendez's complaint is Texas Instruments, which manufactured the switch.

Per Mendez's Illinois auto defect complaint, the fire, which gutted the Ford F-150, likely occurred because of a defect in the cruise control system that allows electrical current to run through the switch even when the vehicle isn't on. Also, even though only one-half amp of power is required by the system, it is constantly getting 15 amps of power, which can cause it to overheat and a fire to start up in parked pickups.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recalled about 17.5 million Ford autos in the last 12 years for issues linked to the faulty control system. However, the NHTSA believes that there still may be several million vehicles with this auto defect that are currently in use. Many Ford owners may not be aware their vehicle has this safety issue--especially if they bought their autos second-hand.

A car fire can be incredibly dangerous for the occupants in a vehicle and those in the area at the time. A motor vehicle that catches fire is at serious risk of exploding--especially when the gas tank is involved. This can lead to not just the destruction of the vehicle but to serious burn injuries and even deaths.

The Ford F-150 is not the only Ford vehicle that has been linked to faulty cruise control systems. Other Ford autos that have been recalled:

• Excursion ('00 and '03 models)
• Mazda-B-Series ('98-'02 models)
• Navigator ('98-'02 models)
• Expedition ('97 to '02 models)
• Windstar ('95-'03 models)
• Mountaineer ('95-02' models)
• Explorer Sport and Sport Trac ('01-'02 models)
• Explorer (95'-02 models)
• Ranger (''95 - 03 models)
• Mercury Capri ('94 models)
• F53 Motorhome ('94-'02 models)
• Bronco ('93-'96 models)
• Mark VIII ('93-'98 models)
• Taurus SHO ('93-'95 models)
• F Series (>8500GVW Diesel) ('93-'97, '99-'03 models)
• Blackwood ('02-'03 models)
• Lightning ('03-'04 models)
• F Series (150-550) ('93-'03 models)
• Crown Victory/Grand Marquis/Town Car ('92-'98 models)
• E Series (Econolines) ('92-93 models)

Auto manufacturers can be held liable for auto defects that cause serious personal injuries or wrongful deaths. You want to work with an experienced auto products liability law firm that has the resources, knowledge, and team to help you recover the damages that you are owed.

Lawsuit: Defect in Ford's cruise control burned down Aurora home, The Beacon-News/Chicago Sun-Times, September 22, 2011

NHTSA Repeats Caution to Owners of Various Recalled Ford Vehicles on Fire Risk, NHTSA, October 21, 2010

Center for Auto Safety

More Blog Posts:
Ford and Chrysler Among Latest Automakers to Recall Vehicles, Product Liability Law Blog, January 3, 2011

Ford Recall and GM Chevrolet Fire Incidents Rekindle Fire Hazard Concerns,
Product Liability Law Blog, February 13, 2011

Auto Defects: California Assembly Approves Bill that Would Bar Rental Car Companies from Selling or Renting Out Recalled Vehicles Until They Are Repaired, Product Liability Law Blog, April 28, 2011

The parents of a teenage girl are suing General Motor for her Texas SUV rollover accident injuries. The teen and other students were riding a Chevrolet Suburban in 2007 when the teacher, who was driving the vehicle, lost control of the sport utility vehicle, which then rolled over.

Even though she was properly restrained, Rachel and Matt Blalock's daughter was thrown from the SUV. Another teenager who was also ejected from the vehicle (police reports say she wasn't wearing a seat belt), died.

In their Texas auto products liability complaint, the Blalocks claim that the SUV did not provide adequate restraint or sufficient occupant protection from rollover accident. They also believe that the Chevy Suburban, which they contend was dangerous and defective, lacked the adequate safeguards to prevent ejection. They are accusing General Motors of failing conduct adequate engineering analysis or testing.

The Blalocks are seeking damages for their daughter's mental trauma, emotional distress, pain and suffering, disfigurement, impairment, medical costs, loss of earning capacity, loss of consortium, and other damages.

SUV Rollover Lawsuits
If you or someone you love was injured in an SUV rollover crash, the sooner you retain the services of an experienced auto products liability law firm that knows how to pursue your recovery, the better. There is a lot of evidence that will need to be gathered and preserved, as well as many questions that witnesses, accident reconstructionists, other experts, police, doctors, and others will have to answer.

Unfortunately, there are auto defects and deficiencies can result in the failure to protect occupants during a rollover crash. Motor vehicle manufactures know this and it is their job to make sure that they do everything possible so that passengers aren't seriously injured or killed. Proper seat belt protection and roofs that are solid enough that they won't result in collapse (known as "roof crush"), and advanced window glazing to protect occupants during impact, are among the safety features that can be implemented.

Ejection Mitigation
Studies show that occupants that aren't ejected from an auto during a collision have a higher survival rate. Fortunately, beginning in 2013, car manufacturers will have to start installing "ejection mitigation" systems in all motor vehicles. All new autos will have to include this feature by 2018. This means better side air bags and window glazing. Also per the new NHTSA-issued rule, motor vehicles weighing less than 10,000 lbs will have to establish a countermeasure that would stop unbelted adults from being able to go 4 inches beyond the opening of a side window during a collision. NHTSA says about 476 serious injuries and 373 deaths could be prevented every year with these new safety measures.

Lawsuit against GM filed over deadly Suburban rollover, Southeast Texas Record, August 15, 2011

U.S. Department of Transportation Issues New Ejection Mitigation Rule, NHTSA, January 13, 2011

Related Web Resources:
NHTSA on Ejection Mitigation (PDF)

TOP SAFETY PICKS 2011, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

More Blog Posts:
Parents File Massachusetts $7M SUV Rollover Lawsuit Against Mitsubishi Motors Over Teenager's 2009 Wrongful Death, Product Liability Law Blog, April 20, 2011

US DOT Issues Rule to Reduce Vehicle Ejections During Rollover Accidents, Product Liability Law Blog, February 4, 2011

Ford SUV Rollover Lawsuit: Jury Awards Baseball Player's Family $131 Million, Product Liability Law Blog, September 27, 2011

A jury has awarded a woman $24.7 million for the California seat back collapse lawsuit she filed against seat manufacturer Johnsons Controls. Jaklin Romine became a paraplegic following the 2006 rear-end car crash. Romine, who is paralyzed from the chest down, says she will use the money to pay for full-time care, a vehicle she can drive on her own, and school.

The catastrophic auto accident occurred on October 21, 2006 when Romine was stopped at an intersection. When the rear-end crash happened, the driver's seat she was using broke and fell backwards, which caused her body to push backward below her seat belt. Her head then hit the back of the rear passenger seat.

During her California auto products liability trial, Jaklin's legal team argued that the car seat was so weak that it couldn't withstand the impact from a crash, which involved speeds as low as 30-mph. They accused the manufacturer of placing front vehicle occupants at serious risk of spinal cord injury, head injuries, and vehicle ejection.

Seatback Collapse
Seat back failure is a potentially fatal auto defect. Seatback collapses are most likely to happen in rear-end crashes when a car seat was made with inadequate seat strength or is faulty in other ways fails. When a vehicle is struck from the rear, its seats should be strong enough to stay upright and keep the occupants in place even as the force of impact moves the car forward and then jolts the passengers backwards. Unfortunately, this isn't always what happens and when seatback failure does occur, the driver can lose control of the auto, occupants may be ejected partially or completely from the vehicle or tossed around inside the auto, those riding in the rear seat can be fatally crushed or killed in a front seat collapse, or the collapsed seats may end up blocking the car doors or windows and eliminating all exits.

Unfortunately, current safety standards for car seats are not tough enough and they have not been updated in more than 3 decades. Car seats only have to pass a strength requirement and despite their known failure rate during National Highway Traffic Safety Administration impact tests, they are not subject to a crash test rating.

That said, regardless of what the current auto seat standard is, it is the responsibility of automakers and seat manufacturers to make sure that their car seats are not weak and prone to failure during an auto accident.

LA Woman Awarded $24M after Crash Collapses Her Car Seat, My Fox LA, April 18, 2011

New study supports case for stronger seats, The Safety Record, July 2, 2011

More Blog Posts:
Hyundai Ordered to Pay $1.8 Million Auto Products Liability Verdict for Teenager's Wrongful Death Caused by Poorly Designed Car Seat, Product Liability Law Blog, May 15, 2010

Ford Motor Co. and Woman Paralyzed in SUV Accident Involving Rear Seat Latch Failure Reach Auto Products Liability Settlement, Product Liability Law Blog, January 11, 2010

Seat Belt Syndrome: Child Safety Continues to Take a Back Seat, Product Liability Law Blog, November 14, 2009

Continue reading "$24.7M California Auto Products Liability Judgment Awarded in Seatback Collapse that Left Woman a Paraplegic" »