Georgia
Georgia jury reaches $1.7B verdict in case over Ford truck crash
Tort Legislation
Georgia jury reaches $1.7B verdict in case over Ford truck crash
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A jury in Georgia determined Friday that the Ford Motor Co. should pay $1.7 billion in punitive damages in a product legal responsibility trial involving its F-250 pickup vans.
The case in Gwinnett County, Georgia, state court docket arose after the 2014 deaths of Melvin and Voncile Hill, who have been using in one of many vans when its tire blew out and it rolled off the highway. Their grownup kids, Kim Hill and Adam Hill, who filed the lawsuit towards Ford, allege that the crushed roof of the truck brought about their deaths.
“The Hills needed punitive damages,” lead plaintiff counsel and Georgia legal professional Jim Butler advised the Every day Report, which additionally reported that Georgia caps punitive damages awards at $250,000 in all instances aside from product-defect instances. He offered almost 80 comparable instances by which folks have been injured or killed by faulty roofs in the identical Ford truck.
“That is the biggest verdict by far in Georgia historical past—eclipsing the earlier verdict of $454 million within the Six Flags case 24 years in the past,” Butler additionally reportedly stated.
In keeping with the Every day Report, he represented Six Flags Over Georgia in its enterprise tort case towards the Time Warner Leisure Co.
A Ford company consultant stated the corporate will problem the award.
“Whereas our sympathies exit to the Hill household, we don’t imagine the decision is supported by the proof and we plan to enchantment,” Ford stated in an electronic mail to the Every day Report.
The media outlet additionally reported that the overall verdict within the case earlier than punitive damages was $24 million, together with $16,000 for funeral bills and $22,500 for the worth of the truck.
The Related Press has further protection of the choice.