June 2004 - A San Diego jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $368.6 million to a woman paralyzed in a Ford Explorer SUV rollover accident. The verdict is the first-ever damage award based on a finding that the popular vehicles are defective because of their rollover risk and weak roofs.

The jury awarded $122.6 million dollars in compensatory damages to the plaintiff and her husband after finding that her 1997 Ford Explorer was defective because of its instability, rollover risk, and weak roof. Two days later the jury awarded a punitive award of $246 million. The jury decided to add on punitive damages after voting 9 to 3 that Ford was responsible for the flawed design and practiced deceptive marketing schemes.

The plaintiff, Benetta Buell-Wilson, was left paralyzed after her Ford Explorer flipped over on a California highway in January 2002 as she tried to avoid a metal obstruction. The plaintiff's vehicle ran off the road and rolled over four and a half times.

The award ends Ford's 13-trial winning streak in cases involving Ford Explorer rollover cases. Ford has settled hundreds of cases over the past years involving Explorer rollover cases, but has always avoided admitting liability.

The plaintiff's attorney commented that Ford had known for many years of the stability problem of their SUV, which amounted to "profits over safety calculus." The attorney also argued that Ford could have settled the case for a smaller amount, but Ford decided to proceed with the case out of arrogance of their past successes.

The plaintiff offered to waive $100 million dollars of the punitive award if Ford agreed to recall all Explorers through the 2001 model year. Presently, however, Ford plans to challenge the verdict stating that the "extremely severe crash [was] initiated by the driver, and any other SUV would have rolled under similar circumstances." The attorney for Ford also plans to ask the judge to slash the enormous punitive damages calling the award "patently unconstitutional".

There is speculation that the verdict may raise pressure on Ford to increase settlement amounts in order to avoid the possibility of similarly large trial verdicts. As of June 2004, there are an estimated 1,100 rollover suits pending against Ford.

Other plaintiffs have vowed to use court transcripts that show the company knowingly put out a defective product. According to official court transcripts, Ford attorney Anthony Sonnett told jurors that Ford engineers were "sorry that they let the rest of the company down. " Moreover Sonnett told jurors: "It's impossible not to be angry at Ford, Ford Motor Co., for what decisions that in marketing and selling this Ford Explorer it knowingly put a defective product on the market and caused the family tragedy."

There are over 5 million Ford Explorers on the road today and Explorers remain the top-selling SUV models in the US.

In 2000, a massive recall was ordered of Firestone tires after at least 350 reported deaths, many involving rollovers of Ford Explorers, mounted with the recalled tires.