Ford Compensates Victims of Maverick County Crash

The Ammons Law Firm successfully obtained compensation for victims of a crash involving a 2004 Ford Expedition. In the crash, family members were traveling together to celebrate Independence Day activities in a nearby town. As the vehicle traveled down a Texas highway, the spare tire provided by Ford as standard equipment suffered a tread separation, causing the Expedition to leave the roadway, rollover, and catch fire.

The compensation wraps up a lawsuit filed by Ammons on behalf of the mother of a 17-year-old girl killed in the crash as well as other passengers in the Expedition who were seriously injured.

In the lawsuit, Ammons alleged that the tire chosen by Ford to offer as original equipment with the Expedition was defective and far less than durable as it was missing a feature known to prevent tread separations. Further, the age of the tire at the time of the crash was 13 years old. Even though the tire was in pristine condition before the crash, its age contributed to the significant degradation of interior components, unnoticeable to the naked eye. Ammons claimed that Ford knew tires have a limited service life, regardless of tread depth and use, and that Ford had an obligation to consumers to warn of the dangers of using aged tires, whether they are in service or not. However, Ford did not issue any warnings or literature concerning tire internal degradation and age with its 2004 Expedition.

Ammons also claimed that the Expedition was designed without electronic stability control, a safety feature known to assist driver handling in the event of tread separation.

The young woman killed in the crash died of blunt force injuries to her torso. The other victims of the crash suffered a wide range of injuries including organ lacerations and traumatic brain injuries. One victim of the crash sustained multiple injuries requiring several surgeries, with past medical treatment costs exceeding $375,000.00.

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, seatbelt defects, airbag defects, and plant explosions.