Safetyforum.com: Attorneys Suing Ford and Firestone Settle Lawsuit
8 January 2001
Safetyforum.com: Attorneys Suing Ford and Firestone Settle Lawsuit
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 8 Tab Turner and Mikal Watts,
attorneys representing Ms. Donna Bailey, announced this morning that Donna
Bailey's lawsuit against Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.
has been settled for an undisclosed amount of money coupled with a videotaped
acceptance of responsibility and apology by three representatives of Ford
Motor Company.
Tab Turner, Safetyforum.com Attorney of Record for Tires and Vehicle
Stability, has offices in Little Rock, Arkansas and Dallas Texas. Mikal
Watts, practices law in Corpus Christi, Texas.
On the day of the crash, Bailey was headed for a rock-climbing trip with
friends. The once-active mother of two is now paralyzed from the neck down. A
quadriplegic, she uses a ventilator to breathe and a wheelchair to get around.
The 43-year-old Texan has become a key figure in a tragedy that has captured
the attention of the nation.
Ms. Bailey is a ventilator dependent quadriplegic as a result of a
rollover crash in a Ford Explorer. She was a seat-belted front seat passenger
in the Explorer when the right rear tire tread separated. Ms. Bailey was
crushed between the roof and the seat cushion during the rollover crash.
Turner and Watts brought suit against both companies contending that the tire
was defectively designed and manufactured and that the Ford Explorer was
unreasonably dangerous due to the combination of its tendency to rollover and
Ford's failure to provide a reasonable level of protection from roof crush
during rollover crashes.
The high profile lawsuit was pending before Judge Nanette Hassette in
Corpus Christi, Texas. Jury selection was scheduled to begin on Tuesday,
January 9, 2001.
The lawsuit was being closely watched because it was one of the first
court cases where the role of Ford's Explorer SUV was the focus of attention
as a cause of the deaths and injuries associated with tread separation
rollover events involving Firestone tires. Ford and Firestone have
consistently disagreed on the issue of the role the design of the Explorer
plays in causing tread failures, loss of control and rollover crashes
following tire failures.
Ford has labeled the Wilson-made Wilderness AT tires as "world class
performers." The failed tire in this case was a non-recalled Wilderness AT
tire made at Firestone's Wilson, North Carolina plant. Thus far, only
Wilderness AT tires made at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant have been
recalled.
Additional terms of the settlement included mandatory public disclosure by
both Ford and Firestone of any additional information provided to the NHTSA
and Congress as it relates to the Ford/Firestone recall investigation along
with a requirement that both companies conduct physical inspections of all
Explorers and all tires on any vehicles involved in tread separation rollover
events in the possession of Mr. Turner and Mr. Watts.
Contact: Tab Turner, Little Rock, Arkansas 501-791-2277
Mikal Watts, Corpus Christi 512-887-0500