Texas Deadly Van Crash Lawyer and Texas Van Rollover Lawyer Handles Defective Van Rollover Crash Lawsuits, Defective Van Crash Automobile Lawsuits, Deadly Van Rollover Crash Lawsuits, Defective Fifteen Passenger Van Lawsuits, Fatal Passenger Van Accident Lawsuits, and Fatal Van Rollover Lawsuits by Texas Deadly Van Crash Lawyer and Texas Van Rollover Lawyer Jason S. Coomer 

Many different types of automobile defects can cause a deadly accident to occur or a minor accident to become a catastrophic injury or deadly accident.  Ford Vehicles have been the subject of many different defective vehicle lawsuits including defective Ford SUV design lawsuits, defective Ford rollover design lawsuits, defective Ford roof safety design lawsuits, Ford van lawsuits, defective Ford SUV tire lawsuits, Ford defective steering column design lawsuits, and defective Ford SUV child restrain design.   

If you have lost a loved one in a fatal rollover crash or have been seriously injured by a defective SUV or other automobile with defective brakes, defective roof design, defective accelerator, defective rollover design, defective tires, or other defective crashworthiness features, feel free to submit an inquiry or send an e-mail to Texas Deadly Rollover Crash lawyer Jason Coomer

Defective Van Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Van Crash Automobile Lawsuit Information, Deadly Van Rollover Crash Lawsuit Informant, Defective Fifteen Passenger Van Lawsuit Information, Fatal Passenger Van Accident Lawsuit Information, and Fatal Van Rollover Lawsuit Information

Fifteen-passenger vans were originally designed to haul cargo, not human passengers and as such, 15-passenger vans lack basic safety features that are standard in other vehicles.  In fact, studies have show that fifteen-passenger vans are inheritantly unstable and unsafe.  These 15-passenger vans are three times more likely to flip and roll when they are fully loaded.  Some consider these 15 passenger vans to be rolling death traps and unsuitable for human transport.  In fact, Federal law prohibits the use of 15 passenger vans for school related transport of high school age and younger students.  

Ford is the subject of a defective 15-passenger van lawsuit in Canada.  This lawsuit arises out of multiple fatal crashes that have taken the lives of several people.  For more information Ford Lawsuits, please go to the following web page, Ford Rollover Crash Lawsuits and Defective Vehicle Lawsuits.

September 30, 2010

A mother whose son died in a 15-passenger van crash has launched a national, class-action lawsuit against the Ford Motor Co., the van's manufacturer, that seeks compensation for all Canadians who purchased the controversial vans, or whose relatives were killed or injured in them.

A 26-year-old musician from Vancouver, was killed on September 2008 when the 15-seat, Ford E-series van in which he was travelling rolled at high speed off the Trans-Canada Highway in Manitoba.  His mother has hired high-profile lawyer to handle her class action against Ford. 

The claim seeks repayment of purchase costs to all Canadian owners of Ford, 15-passenger vans. It also seeks compensation for Canadian families whose relatives have been killed or injured in Ford 15-passenger van accidents.

Those accidents include the infamous crash that took the lives of seven students and a teacher from a high school in Bathurst, N.B., in 2008.

The families of people that were killed in these fatal 15-passenger Ford van rollover accidents, have teamed up to lobby the provincial and federal governments to ban 15-seat vans for the purposes of transporting schoolchildren in Canada. Although similar bans are in place in the United States, only Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec forbid schools from using 15-passenger vans to transport students in those provinces.

A Postmedia News investigation last year showed that almost 20 per cent of Canada's school districts still use 15-seat vans to transport students, mostly to off-site sports and other extracurricular events.

Fifteen-passenger vans have been labelled "death traps on wheels" by the Safety Forum, a U.S. consumer watchdog agency. Originally designed as cargo vans, they were converted for passenger use decades ago, but have not been fitted with the standard safety features and emergency-handling characteristics of cars, minivans and school buses.

Lawsuit filed by family whose child died in 15 passenger van crash PRESS RELEASE

Oct 22, 2010 at 10:58 AM CST

Fatal Passenger Van Lawyers have filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a family whose daughter was killed on October 3, 2010 when the 1987 Dodge 15-passenger van in which she was a passenger rolled over several times and crashed. The van became uncontrollable after the tread on a rear tire separated, causing the tire to fail. The complaint included allegations of product liability, failure to warn, negligence and wantonness for the unsafe conditions of the van and tire. The Defendants include Chrysler Group, L.L.C., Chrysler Group Vans, L.L.C., and R&J Tire Co. Inc.

First lawsuit filed in deadly church van crash Posted: Oct 22, 2010 4:16 PM CST Updated: Oct 22, 2010 4:21 PM CST Click image to enlarge More on WTVM.com

* Web Extra! Walton v. Chrysler Group Complaint

By James Valles – email | Facebook | Twitter

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) -- The family of a 20-year-old woman who lost her life in an October 3rd fatal church van crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The church van crash injured fifteen and killed four members of Columbus' Tabernacle of Prayer and Deliverance Church. The group was heading to a revival in Florida when investigators say the rear tire blew out, causing the van to flip over.

In the 11-page wrongful death lawsuit, filed this morning in Russell County, Horace Walton, the suit's plaintiff and father of Jennifer Walton, 20, claims Chrysler, the maker of the 1986 Dodge 15-passenger van knowingly designed, manufactured, and distributed a van intended for carrying cargo not passengers.

The suit also alleges Phenix City based, The R & J Tire Company, failed to properly inspect and sold a Michelin tire that was placed on the van, which later blew out in the accident.

A spokesman for Chrysler tells News Leader Nine the company has yet to receive the lawsuit and adds there's never a good outcome when vans are overcrowded and passengers fail to wear seatbelts. He went on to say the vehicle exceeds all federal safety standards and has an excellent safety record.

The Walton family is seeking monetary compensation and wants to make sure others are aware of what they call the dangers of these vans.

Automobile Accident Crashworthiness Safety Belt Lawsuits, Fatal Crash Rollover Lawsuits, Fatal SUV Rollover Crash Crashworthiness Unsafe Roof Collapse Lawsuits and Fatal Automobile Rollover Crash Crashworthiness Lawsuits (Automobile Defective Crashworthiness Product Liability Lawsuits)

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set minimum performance requirements for those vehicle parts that protect drivers and passengers from death or serious injury in the event of a crash (air bags, safety belts, child restraints, energy absorbing steering columns, motorcycle helmets).  These vehicle performance requirements, defective automobile crashworthiness lawsuits, manufacturer safety policies, and the investigation efforts of the The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are important to identify unsafe vehicles with defective airbags, defective seat belts, defective child restraints, defective roof design, defective designs that cause vehicle fires, and defective designs that cause vehicle rollovers.

Defective Ford Fatal Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Ford Automobile Roof Lawsuit Information, Deadly Ford Defective SUV Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Ford SUV Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Ford Fatal Accident Lawsuit Information, Ford Deadly Crash Failed Restraint Lawsuit Information and Fatal Ford Roof Design Rollover Lawsuit Information

Over the past decade there have been several Ford lawsuits regarding defective automobiles causing catastrophic injuries and death.  Below are links and information on some defective vehicle lawsuits against Ford including Ford Rollover Lawsuits, Ford Defective Roof Lawsuits, Ford Defective Ignition Lawsuits, Ford Defective Cruise Control Lawsuits, Ford Defective Tire Lawsuits, Ford Defective Seat Belt Lawsuits, Ford Defective Truck Lawsuits, Ford Defective SUV Lawsuits, and other Ford Vehicle Lawsuits.


Ford Van Lawsuit Information (Unstable Danger for Rollover and Lack of Proper Safety Restraints)

Date: October 19, 2010

Jury Awards $19M to Arkansas Man In Ford Lawsuit

In a Ford Van defective seat belt case our of Arkansas, a federal jury awarded $19 million to a man who sued Ford Motor Co. claiming that he suffered serious injuries and paralyzed from a defective seat belt in a Ford van that did not protect him in the van accident.  In the lawsuit, the paralyzed man claimed that in addition to the rollover and improper design that the Van seat belt was defective in his 1998 Windstar van and that this seat belt defect in his Ford van caused him to become paralyzed from the waist down and in one arm.  The Ford van rollover crash occurred in 2005 and resulted in the injured man suffering serious and permanent injuries.  The paralyzed man claimed that the defective seat belt combined with the Ford van roll over caused him to be thrown from the vehicle.  He claimed that he was wearing his seat belt and that a defect in the buckle device of the seatbelt caused the seat belt to release during the rollover.  The jury agreed with the paralyzed man and awarded damages based on the Ford van having crashworthiness problems.


Ford Explorer Rollover Lawsuit Information (Defective Tire Lawsuits, Defective Roof Lawsuits, Defective Seat Belt Lawsuits, and Defective Rollover Lawsuits)

Date:  March 28, 2008

Ford Loses $6.5 Million Jury Verdict in Explorer Rollover

In another Ford Rollover Lawsuit, a jury awarded damages to the family of a man who was killed in a Fatal Ford Explorer Rollover Crash.    The family of a 60-year-old man who was killed in the Ford Explorer Rollover accident alleged that the Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle that killed their family member was defective including a defective cruise control that caused the driver of the vehicle to lose control over the Explorer and inadequate roof protection that failed to protect drivers in the event of a Ford Explorer rollover crash. In the lawsuit the family also claimed that defective seat belt defects in the 1998 Explorer caused the death of and injuries to two other passengers.  The jury found that the Ford Explorer Roof was defective and awarded  $6.5 million., but the jury did not agree that the family had proven the defective seat belt claims. 


Ford Fifteen-passenger Van Lawsuit Information (Unstable Danger for Rollover and Lack of Proper Safety Restraints)


10/25/2001 - Updated 06:56 PM ET

Ford settles ignition lawsuit

In 2001, Ford (F) settled one of the industry's biggest auto defect cases Thursday, agreed to pay for repairs on millions of cars and trucks with an ignition-system flaw that could cause the vehicles to stall in traffic. Models with the switch included the following Ford vehicles:

Aerostar, 1986-90
Bronco, 1984-91
Bronco II, 1984-90
Capri, 1983-86
Continental, 1984-87
Cougar, 1984-88
Crown Victoria, 1984-91
E-Series 1984-91
Escort, 1983-90
EXP, 1983-88
F-Series, 1984-91
F-Stripped Chassis 1989
Grand Marquis, 1984-91
LN7, 1983
LTD, 1984-86
Lynx, 1983-87
Mark, 1984-92
Marquis, 1984-86
Merkur, 1985-89
Mustang, 1983-93
Probe, 1990-92
Ranger, 1983-92
Sable, 1986-95
Scorpio, 1988-89
Taurus, 1986-95
Tempo, 1984-94
Thunderbird, 1983-88
Topaz, 1984-94
Town Car, 1984-90

Several Ford Fatal Accidents were blamed on the defective stalling Ford vehicles with the ignition device.  Though Ford agreed to the settlement, Ford maintained that the devices and its vehicles are safe and admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.  The settlement did not affect any Ford wrongful death or personal-injury lawsuits that were filed over the defect.  Nor did it remove an estimated 12 million Fords nationwide equipped with the ignition system, which were originally installed in 20 million cars and trucks between 1983 and 1995, including the popular Taurus, Mustang, Escort and Ranger.

In August 2001, The Associated Press obtained internal Ford memos that showed the automaker had evidence its ignition design could make engines suddenly fail on the road.


Defective Ford Fatal Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Ford Automobile Roof Lawsuit Information, Deadly Ford Defective SUV Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Ford SUV Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Ford Fatal Accident Lawsuit Information, Ford Deadly Crash Failed Restraint Lawsuit Information and Fatal Ford Roof Design Rollover Lawsuit Information

Manufacturers have known for decades that vehicles roll over in reasonably foreseeable accidents. With the rise in popularity of SUVs and pick-up trucks, the number of people who are susceptible to vehicles rolling over has increased significantly over the last 20 years. However, in light of the fact that more people are affected by rollovers, most vehicle manufacturers have not increased the strength of the roofs in their SUVs and pick-ups.

Roof crush, or “loss of occupant survival space,” creates many problems for occupants in the vehicle. First, it rapidly reduces the space in the vehicle for the occupant. This will increase the risk that the occupant will receive a spinal cord compression injury. Second, roof deformation does not happen straight down but rather down and in toward the occupant. This significantly increases the likelihood that a properly belted occupant will be partially ejected out of the vehicle during the roll sequence. Typically the force of the roll coupled with the glass shattering out of the window, the roof crushing down and inward and the seatbelt not properly securing the occupant to the seat will result in the occupant having his or her head and/or arm and shoulder out of the vehicle during the roll. As will be discussed below, there are other ways to keep an occupant in the vehicle during a roll but a roof that stays in place during a roll reduces the risk of a person being partially ejected or receiving a compression injury even without the other safety measures.

The most common injuries associated with roof crush are spinal cord compression injuries and death. Many automobile manufacturers have taken the position, especially in spinal cord compression injury cases, that the injury was caused by the occupant “diving” into the roof. The term “diving” comes from the analogy of swimming pool diving injuries to compression injuries sustained in rollovers. With this defense, the automobile manufacturers maintain the injury occurs before the roof crushes in by the head moving toward the roof until it can go no further and the weight of the occupant’s body moving toward the head until there is such loading on the neck that a spinal injury occurs. Vehicle manufactures allege through testing and expert testimony that when a vehicle is inverted, the forces of gravity and the roll sequence will lead to an occupants head contacting the roof without any roof crush. They allege that there is no alternative roof design that can stop this from happening.

Partial ejections are also common in rollover accidents because the roof crushes down and in toward the occupant. When the roof crushes down and in, the force of the roll causes the occupant’s head to get outside the plane of the vehicle. In a partial ejection, it is common for an occupant to hit his or her head against the ground or pavement or get it caught between the car and ground during the roll. Vehicle manufacturers often argue that no matter the strength of the roof, a belted occupant can get their head out of the car during a roll. But if you keep the roof from deforming more than 3 inches during a rollover, restrained and contained occupants cannot get their heads out of the plane of the vehicle and sustain a catastrophic injury. The most important series of tests that address the causal relationship between occupant injuries and roof deformation are Malibu I and Malibu II. These were dolly rollover tests performed with Chevrolet Malibus (some with production roofs and others with reinforced roofs that did not deform during the rollovers). The vehicles were equipped with Hybrid III test dummies (in Malibu I the dummies were unrestrained and in Malibu II the dummies were properly belted). Vehicle manufacturers use the Malibu tests to argue the roof crush does not actually cause the injury.

The test data demonstrates, however, that there is a causative relationship between the strength of the roof and significant neck loading. Analysis of the Malibu testing and other testing that has been performed by the automotive industry and others is beyond the scope of this paper, but it is important for anybody handling a roof crush case to be well-versed in all of this testing. When analyzing a roof crush case, it is important to analyze the extent of the roof deformation. This will require measurements that can be done by a trained attorney or investigator. Further, as discussed above, the accident reconstruction will provide much information that will allow an analysis of a roof crush case. Trip speed, roll velocity, number of rolls, drop height and the type of roll (barrel, end over end or football) are all needed to analyze whether or not a safer alternative design existed that would have kept the occupant compartment space preserved during the roll.

  United States and Texas Fatal Ford Crash Lawyers for Deadly Ford Accident, Wreck, Collisions, and Crash Lawsuits

As a Texas Fatal Ford Rollover Crash, Jason Coomer, works on Texas Fatal Ford Rollover Lawsuits involving serious injuries and fatal automobile collisions all over the State of Texas and throughout the United States.  In working on Texas Fatal Ford Crash Law Suits, Jason Coomer commonly works with other Texas Ford Accident Lawyers throughout Texas and the United States including Houston Fatal Ford Crash Lawyers, Dallas Fatal Ford Rollover Lawyers, El Paso Defective Ford SUV Crash Lawyers, and San Antonio Fatal Ford Accident Lawyers.

In working with other Defective Ford Crashworthiness Lawyers, he is able to more efficiently investigate and litigate catastrophic injury and fatal automobile crash and deadly car wreck lawsuits that are caused by defective automobile design or parts.

Defective Ford Fatal Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Ford Automobile Roof Lawsuit Information, Deadly Ford Defective SUV Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Defective Ford SUV Rollover Crash Lawsuit Information, Ford Fatal Accident Lawsuit Information, Ford Deadly Crash Failed Restraint Lawsuit Information and Fatal Ford Roof Design Rollover Lawsuit Information

  Texas Fatal Crash Rollover lawyer, Jason S. Coomer, helps individuals that have been seriously injured and the families of people that have been killed as a result of defective air bags, defective rollover design, defective roof design, defective safety restraint design, defective steering column design, or other a defective crashworthiness automobile design or part.  If you have a question about a fatal rollover crash lawsuit or a SUV rollover crash roof collapse lawsuit, contact Austin Texas Fatal Rollover Crash lawyer Jason Coomer.

 

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