Ford Compensates Daughter Who Witnessed Mother’s Death in Rollover Crash

The Ammons Law Firm has secured compensation from Ford for a Texas teen whose mother was killed when the family’s 2003 Explorer Sport rolled over.

Mother and daughter were passengers in the Explorer Sport at the time of the crash. According to Ammons, as the vehicle rolled, its roof collapsed over the mother, and the seat belt she wore failed to couple her to her seat. She forcefully contacted the side roof rail as it intruded into her survival space, causing a traumatic brain injury that resulted in her death.

Ammons claimed that the Explorer Sport was not crashworthy, meaning occupants of the vehicle can suffer extra injuries unnecessarily in accidents. It was Ammons’ contention that Ford negligently designed the SUV with a weak roof and that using heavier gauge or high strength steel as well as adding stiffeners at strategic locations would have made the roof strong and capable of withstanding the vehicle’s weight in a rollover crash without significant deformation. Ammons also noted that while Ford engineers had recommended that its SUVs be equipped with a rollover-activated safety canopy by the 2001 model year, Ford did not follow that recommendation. This crucial occupant protection feature likely would have prevented this mother’s fatal injury, says Ammons, but was not included in the 2003 Explorer Sport.

The party being compensated is the victim’s teenage daughter who witnessed her mother’s death and sought both wrongful death and bystander damages.

The Ammons Law Firm has a nationwide personal injury practice focusing on tire defects, truck accidents, rollovers, consumer protection and product liability, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, post-collision fires, seat belt defects, airbag defects, and plant explosions.