Seat Failure Topics

National Seat Failure Lawyers

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Miller, Curtis & Weisbrod LLP
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Dallas, TX 75243

Ford Loses $10 Million Jury Verdict in Seat-Back Failure Case

Thursday, May 31, 2007
- Detroit News
A Florida jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $10.4 million to a 65-year-old woman who was paralyzed when here 2000 Explorer was rear-ended by a Toyota Solara, Bloomberg News reported. Donna Grimes said the vehicle's back seat was defective because it collapsed during the rear-end collision in October 2001. She hit the seat behind her upon impact. She sustained a broken neck and was left quadriplegic.

Seat Defect Issues

The seat back, in a rear collision, is designed to work the same way a seat belt does, in a front collision. Both are designed to keep the seat's occupant in place before, during and after the impact. The main rear impact defect in passenger vehicles in the United States is weak seat back design. This weak design makes it possible for the seat back to collapse under the force of it's occupant, enabling the occupant to eject from their seated position. This ejection can result in the occupant hitting other passengers, objects in the vehicle itself, or completely ejecting from the vehicle altogether.

During rear impacts, vehicle seats may yield rearward. A typical seat incline is 22 degrees from vertical. If a seat collapses to 60 degrees or more, the occupant is likely to ramp out of their seat. Even in cases where the seats does not collapse to 60 degrees, there still is a high chance of the occupant ramping rearward, causing serious head injury or even or quadriplegia from nexk trauma.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a seat back failure accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney immediately. Those who have questions or who may have been injured in a seat back failure-related collision should contact the attorneys at Miller, Curtis and Weisbrod for further information.