Ford Motor Company has been sued successfully in a personal injury case by a woman in California who, after being involved in a car accident while driving her Ford Explorer, was rendered quadriplegic .
Ms. Cynthia Castillo was driving down a freeway when the left rear tire of her Ford Explorer de-treaded causing her to lose control of the vehicle which then veered off the road and rolling down an embankment 3 times. The accident left Ms. Castillo's legs paralyzed as well as much of the rest of her body.
Ms. Castillo's lawyer, Brian Brandt claimed that it was due to the Explorer's poor design that the accident had occurred and that Ford had refused to pay for design upgrades which would have made the SUV much safer.
Ford's attorney said the accident was a result of the worn tire which Ms. Castillo had not changed.
However, the jury ruled in favor of Ms. Castillo and has ordered Ford to pay $23.4 million in compensation to cover Ms. Castillo's pain and suffering, as well as her medical expenses.
Ford were found to be 91.5% liable for Ms. Castillo's injuries while the tire manufacturer was found to be 7% at fault and Ms. Castillo herself found to be 1.5% at fault.
Ford have said they will appeal the decision but have not officially done so yet.
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