An Oakland musician who was made a quadriplegic in a rollover crash four years ago won an $18.3 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. in federal court.
Dax Pierson, 38, suffered severe spinal injuries when a Ford passenger van that the band was traveling in ran off an icy highway in Iowa and rolled over in a ditch on Feb. 24, 2005.
Pierson sued Ford for creating a defective seat-latching mechanism that caused his seat to come loose, resulting in his head hitting the roof of the rolled-over van.
The $18.3 million jury award came after three weeks of trial in the court of U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton. It includes $12.3 million for past and future medical expenses and lost earnings plus $6 million for pain and suffering.
Daniel Dell’Osso, a lawyer for Pierson, said, “Now Dax’s care is properly funded.”
Dell’Osso said Pierson, the only one of seven people in the van who was injured in the accident, will need care for life. He said Pierson has lost the use of his legs and most of the use of his arms, but can move his arms a little by moving his shoulders.
The company argued during the trial that the design was not defective and that the van driver was partly at fault, but the jury found that Ford was 100 percent responsible for Pierson’s injuries.
If you or a family member has been injured because of the fault of someone else; by negligence, personal injury, slip and fall, car accident, medical malpractice, trucking accident, drunk driving, bad product, toxic injury etc then please contact the Fort Worth Texas Car Accident Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik. For a no obligation, free case analysis, please call 817-255-4001 or Contact Me Online.