Personal Injury Law

Ford Explorer Lawsuit awards family $131 million in death of NY Mets Pitcher Brian Cole

By LaBovick Law

Rarely do I get a chance to discuss baseball on our Injury Law Blog.  The following case regarding recent verdict in the wrongful death of a NY Mets Pitcher presented the perfect opportunity.

A Miss. jury awarded the family of Brian Cole a $131 million verdict in the wrongful death lawsuit involving a Ford UV Rollover. According to former Mets Manager, Brian Cole was a top prospect and the NY Mets were building a team around him.  He had a very promising career in baseball before his life was cut short in the fatal Ford Explorer  Rollover accident.

Brian LaBovick, Esq.,  Managing Shareholder, LaBovick & LaBovick, P.A., made the following statement about the verdict:

"Thank God the jury had the courage to value the case properly so that Ford learned a valuable lesson, that a person's life has value. They must fix their defective automobiles so they protect human life rather than cause the loss of life."

According to ESPN, the Cole family contended the following:

"The Explorer is defective and unreasonably dangerous for the uses for which it was marketed because the vehicle has an unreasonable tendency to roll when used as Ford marketed it to be used [as a station wagon replacement], and that the vehicle is also defective and unreasonably dangerous from an occupant protection or 'crashworthiness' standpoint because the safety belt failed to remain locked and permitted Brian to be thrown from the car and killed."

As one would expect, Ford did not admit any wrongdoing and blamed that the accident was caused by the fault of the driver, excessive speed and not wearing a seatbelt.

Ford issued the following statement after the trial:

 "This was a tragic accident and our sympathy goes out to the Cole family for their loss, but it was unfair of them to blame Ford. Further they stated that ' Brian Cole had been driving over 80 mph when he drifted off road for unknown reasons, suddenly turned his steering wheel 295 degrees, lost control, and caused the vehicle to roll over more than three times. He was not wearing his safety belt and died after being ejected from the vehicle. His passenger, who was properly belted, walked away from the accident'

Eleven of the 12 jury members agreed on the verdict against Ford, after which the case was settled. It was the third time the case was being tried.

A Few DRIVING SAFETY TIPS:

• Pay attention to the Road
• Don't Speed
• Wear Your Seatbelts
• Don't Drive while intoxicated
• Don't run Red
• Don't Text While Driving

Click on the following link to read more on the ESPN story on Brian Cole's family wins $131 Million 

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on September 04, 2010 (boomark / email).