Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Yesterday, the largest settlement in San Diego County history - a pre-trial settlement of $8,300,000, and a verdict of $14,465,000 - was levied against Mossy Ford Motor Corporation, after a husband and wife were killed in 2006 from a rollover accident in their Ford Sportsmobile. The couple was driving along a rural Arizona highway when the tread separated from the vehicle's right, rear tire, which caused the van to roll numerous times before coming to a stop. The couple had reportedly taken their vehicle into a Ford Dealership previous to the accident to repair puncture damage to that same tire. Instead of dealing with the problem correctly by replacing the tire, Ford performed a shoddy  repair job, which inadvertently led to the fatal accident.

The driver, Casey Barber, died at the scene, and his wife, Melanie died in the hospital a few days later. Their three sons, ages 3, 5, and 7, survived.

The verdict went to the surviving sons, who had already obtained an $8.3 million settlement before the trial for the faulty work done to the conversion van.

Adam Shea, the co-lead attorney for the plaintiffs, remarked, after the verdict was reached, "We are happy for the family, This will help the boys be taken care of financially. It is [just] unfortunate that Mossy forced us into a six-week trial to make them acknowledge that they made a serious mistake." 

Shea also said after the verdict, that Ford agreed to post in their dealerships industry guidelines on correct tire repair practices and to implement tire-safety training programs to prevent further wrongful-deaths.

This case - the case of Barber v. Mossy Ford - is a benchmark in SUV rollover cases due to motor corporation malpractice.