Dianne Reading was speeding in foggy conditions in her Ford Explorer, when she jerked her wheel to the right to avoid a deer, and flipped her vehicle. Unfortunately, she had not belted her minor son, Andrew, and he died. A Texas jury found Reading 65% responsible, but attributed 35% of the accident to Ford for not using “wider tires,” and then assessed so much in damages that Ford is still on the hook for $16.6 million. Ford will appeal. (Scott E. Williams, “Ford hit with historic $16.6M verdict”, Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 15).
Dianne Reading v. Ford
Dianne Reading was speeding in foggy conditions in her Ford Explorer, when she jerked her wheel to the right to avoid a deer, and flipped her vehicle. Unfortunately, she had not belted her minor son, Andrew, and he died. A Texas jury found Reading 65% responsible, but attributed 35% of the accident to Ford for […]
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http://www.dumb-lawsuits.com/46/
From the Galveston County Daily News: A woman is awarded a $16.7M verdict for killing her son in a car accident.
Speeding
Foggy Conditions
No Seatbelt
Yep, definitely Ford’s fault.
Denver attorney Tim O’Neill, representing Ford, had…
Ah, the joy of being both the primarily responsible party AND the person getting paid for your screwup – it doesn’t matter how small a percentage someone else contributed, as long as it’s above 0, you can just ratchet up the damamges until they are paying what you want, and “pay” yourself all the rest…
What a scam.
I favor the rule that no damages can be recovered if you are 50% or more responsible for your own injury.
And IANAL.