Ford Motor Co. has been hit with a $1.7 billion verdict thanks to a Georgia jury, in what is now being called the largest monetary verdict in the state.
The verdict stems from a wrongful death suit from a 2014 rollover crash that ended in the death of a couple.
Attorney Gerald Davidson shared that the verdict was delivered by the jury after a 14-day trial in state court.
The family of Melvin and Voncile Hill was awarded $24 million in compensatory damages thanks to the jury, who also allocated 70 percent of the blame to Ford.
It was ruled that the couple would’ve likely survived the crash if the roof of the pickup truck they were driving didn’t have a design flaw which caused it to crunch when the car was forcefully rolled over.
The couple’s children served as plaintiffs in the case.
The image below shows the wrecked Ford F-250 that the couple were in. As you can see, the roof was completely flattened as well as the mirrors, doors, and windows.
The New York Post reported on the story:
Ford sold 5.2 million “Super Duty” trucks with weak roofs that would crush people inside during rollovers, the jury determined. The flaw was present in all “Super Duty” models between 1999 and 2016, their lawyer, James E. Butler said.
Attorneys showed evidence at the trial of nearly 80 similar wrecks where people had been killed or injured when the trucks’ roofs crushed them during rollovers.
Ford has refused to say how many similar incidents it is aware of. Nor has the car giant ever issued a recall, Butler said.
The suit also targeted Pep Boys for installing the wrong size tires on the truck, causing the blowout.
The Daily Wire also reported:
Last week, they were awarded $1.7 billion in punitive damages, but they will only be able to claim $425 million of that cash. The state will receive the other 75% in accordance with Georgia law.
Altogether, the Hill family is slated to receive $450 million from Ford over the tragedy.
One of the family’s lawyer’s said the couple might as well have been driving a convertible, the roof was so “useless.”
“I used to buy Ford trucks,” the family’s attorney, James Butler Jr., said on Sunday. “I thought nobody would sell a truck with a roof this weak. The damn thing is useless in a wreck. You might as well drive a convertible.”“More deaths and severe injuries are certain because millions of these trucks are on the road,” said another of the family’s attorneys, Gerald Davidson.
In court filings, the family’s legal team cited 79 other rollover crashes that they said involved a similar flaw in the roof.
Ford plans to appeal the expensive verdict.
“While our sympathies go out to the Hill family, we do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence, and we plan to appeal,” Ford said in a statement on Sunday.
The legacy American car company’s stock has sunk about 27% this year, and the company is currently worth about $60 billion.
Meanwhile, Ford is slashing about 3,000 jobs, most of which are in North America. Like many companies, Ford is attempting to cut costs as inflation stays around a 40-year high.
