Ford Truck Rollover Accidents and Crashes

The safety of Ford F-150, Ford Ranger, Ford Expedition and F series and E series pickup trucks has been called into question because of alleged safety defects and rollover risks with the vehicles.

Pickup Truck Rollover Accident and Crashes

A rollover crash can happen in any type of vehicle. Pickup trucks and SUVs, however, are not as safe as many consumers believe because they ride higher from the ground than passenger cars. This makes pickups and SUVs more likely to roll over in a crash.

When rollover accidents occur, they are often fatal. In 2002, sixty-one percent of all occupant fatalities in sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and 45 percent of pickup truck deaths were the result of a rollover crash. By comparison, only 22 percent of passenger car fatalities in 2002 were the result of a rollover crash.

Door Latch Safety Concerns

As reported by The Detroit News on May 2, 2004, documents released in court suits indicated that Ford Motor Company overruled its own safety engineers' recommendations to recall up to 4.1 million pickups and sport utility vehicles that they found had substandard door latches.

A Ford safety engineering team determined in March 2000 that door latches on certain 1997-2000 light trucks didn't meet federal safety standards. The trucks include the popular F-150, F-250, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator models, according to internal Ford memos made public as several lawsuits against Ford.

After the recommendations, according to press reports, Ford ordered immediate design changes for future vehicles. But the automaker decided against a recall, which could have cost up to $527 million. The company determined instead that the latches could pass a rarely used alternative compliance test.

Legal Claims of Injured Persons

Multiple personal injury lawsuits have been filed against Ford claiming that Ford trucks suffer door latch failures in rollover accidents, which resulted in greater injuries or deaths to the driver and passengers. The law permits drivers and passengers and the families of loved ones who have died in rollover crashes or suffered injuries when doors opened in an accident to bring claims against Ford.

Damages sought have included punitive damages for manufacturing the Ford pickups with alleged, known safety defects and include general and compensatory damages for:

Contact Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser represents persons who have been injured or killed in accidents involving Ford vehicles. Please click here to contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney.

Alternatively, you may call Lieff Cabraser toll-free at 1-866-313-1973 and ask to speak to partner Kathryn E. Barnett.