An Alabama jury has awarded $151.8m (£117.4m) to a young man paralyzed in a 2015 rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, Ford and lawyers in the case said on Sunday.
The jury awarded $100m in punitive damages and the rest in compensatory damages after finding that the 1998 Ford Explorer did not meet the company’s own safety guidelines, according to a court document seen by Reuters and lawyers for plaintiff Travaris “Tre” Smith.
The document, released on Friday, said Ford “acted wantonly” in designing the vehicle.
Mr Smith was riding in the SUV when its driver swerved to avoid an animal and the vehicle rolled over twice, attorneys at law firms Beasley Allen and Gamble, Gamble, Calame and Jones said in a statement.
Ford said it plans to appeal to the ruling.
Monique Brentley, a spokesperson for the car company, told Reuters:
“Our sympathy goes out to Travaris Smith and his family. At the same time, we disagree with the jury’s conclusion in this case as well as with a series of rulings by the Alabama court that kept the jury from hearing critical evidence – and will appeal.”
Ford said it has redesigned the Explorer since 1998.
Mr Smith’s attorneys said the verdict would give him access to home care and assistance.
“We represent a 24-year-old young man who cannot be left alone to care for himself in any way,” Kendall Dunson, a lawyer at Beasley Allen, said.
“This verdict represents justice for Tre and his family. Thanks to a courageous jury, he will now be able to access basic necessities within his home and have access to the care he needs.”
Reuters
