February 12, 2003
BY LAWRENCE VIELE
BLOOMBERG
MACON, Georgia -- Ford Motor Co. installed a defective air bag in a pickup truck, causing a woman's severe brain damage when the device inflated, her lawyers told a federal jury.
"A person should not be injured by their own vehicle, especially the safety equipment in their own vehicle," said George Fryhofer, an attorney for Wanda Howard, 54, and her family, as the trial began in Macon, Georgia. The family, claiming Ford was aware of the defect, is seeking at least $10 million for medical costs, lost income and pain and suffering.
Woody Norwood, a lawyer for Ford, the world's second-biggest automaker, said Howard's 1997 F-150 truck received the highest safety rating from U.S. officials and the company isn't at fault. Howard, a front-seat passenger, may not have been properly positioned and may have failed to wear her seatbelt properly when the air bag inflated with such force that her brain stem was injured, he said.
The automaker was ordered by a Texas jury in December to pay $228 million to the families of two men killed in an F-150 rollover. Ford also has been sued in five states by customers who claim it sold unstable Explorers with faulty Firestone tires. Lawyers seek an estimated $1 billion in those cases.
Companies take a financial risk by going to trial that the jury may award a large sum to the injured party. So far, individual air bag lawsuits haven't proved a financial burden, said Dan Poole, vice president of equity research at National City Corp., which manages $23 billion, including Ford shares.
Returning From Church
Shares of the Dearborn, Michigan-based company rose 15 cents to $8.95 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today. Shares have fallen 38 percent in the last year. While Ford has lost money for two straight years, it was the only U.S. car company to increase domestic sales in January.
A 12-member jury is hearing the Howard case, which is expected to last two weeks. U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal is presiding.
Howard was injured on the way home from church in September 1998 when the truck driven by her husband Earl was struck by a car. Though Earl Howard had slowed, the air bag inflated anyway, Fryhofer said. Wanda Howard cannot speak or walk because of her injuries.
Norwood said air bags are inherently risky and that company engineers did extensive design testing and met federal safety requirements. Wanda Howard most likely was too close to the dashboard, he said. Her seatbelt was tested after the wreck and worked properly, he said.
"If you are too close to the air bag, you can be injured or killed," he said.
Air bags have been controversial since 1991, when automakers were required by federal law to install them. In the late 1990s, automakers began recommending that children ride in the back seats of cars to avoid injuries or death from an inflating air bag.
Starting in 1998, Ford and other automakers have been using "de-powered" air bags that inflate with less force, Norwood said. The change is in accord with new federal testing standards, he said.
Ford's F series of pickup trucks, including the F-150, is its best-selling model in the U.S., according to Autodata Corp. The F-150 accounts for about 60 percent of F-series sales, the company said.
BY LAWRENCE VIELE
BLOOMBERG
MACON, Georgia -- Ford Motor Co. installed a defective air bag in a pickup truck, causing a woman's severe brain damage when the device inflated, her lawyers told a federal jury.
"A person should not be injured by their own vehicle, especially the safety equipment in their own vehicle," said George Fryhofer, an attorney for Wanda Howard, 54, and her family, as the trial began in Macon, Georgia. The family, claiming Ford was aware of the defect, is seeking at least $10 million for medical costs, lost income and pain and suffering.
Woody Norwood, a lawyer for Ford, the world's second-biggest automaker, said Howard's 1997 F-150 truck received the highest safety rating from U.S. officials and the company isn't at fault. Howard, a front-seat passenger, may not have been properly positioned and may have failed to wear her seatbelt properly when the air bag inflated with such force that her brain stem was injured, he said.
The automaker was ordered by a Texas jury in December to pay $228 million to the families of two men killed in an F-150 rollover. Ford also has been sued in five states by customers who claim it sold unstable Explorers with faulty Firestone tires. Lawyers seek an estimated $1 billion in those cases.
Companies take a financial risk by going to trial that the jury may award a large sum to the injured party. So far, individual air bag lawsuits haven't proved a financial burden, said Dan Poole, vice president of equity research at National City Corp., which manages $23 billion, including Ford shares.
Returning From Church
Shares of the Dearborn, Michigan-based company rose 15 cents to $8.95 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today. Shares have fallen 38 percent in the last year. While Ford has lost money for two straight years, it was the only U.S. car company to increase domestic sales in January.
A 12-member jury is hearing the Howard case, which is expected to last two weeks. U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal is presiding.
Howard was injured on the way home from church in September 1998 when the truck driven by her husband Earl was struck by a car. Though Earl Howard had slowed, the air bag inflated anyway, Fryhofer said. Wanda Howard cannot speak or walk because of her injuries.
Norwood said air bags are inherently risky and that company engineers did extensive design testing and met federal safety requirements. Wanda Howard most likely was too close to the dashboard, he said. Her seatbelt was tested after the wreck and worked properly, he said.
"If you are too close to the air bag, you can be injured or killed," he said.
Air bags have been controversial since 1991, when automakers were required by federal law to install them. In the late 1990s, automakers began recommending that children ride in the back seats of cars to avoid injuries or death from an inflating air bag.
Starting in 1998, Ford and other automakers have been using "de-powered" air bags that inflate with less force, Norwood said. The change is in accord with new federal testing standards, he said.
Ford's F series of pickup trucks, including the F-150, is its best-selling model in the U.S., according to Autodata Corp. The F-150 accounts for about 60 percent of F-series sales, the company said.