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more_legal_areas suvSUV rollover accidents have received a lot of press since the Bridgestone/ Firestone deaths in 2001. There were 271 deaths and over 800 injuries linked to the defective tires that often caused the Ford Explorers to rollover. The SUV rollover accident settlements have involved millions of dollars so far. Still, SUV popularity continued to skyrocket and the dangers associated to the vehicles alongside continuous reports of fatal rollover accidents failed to affect the oversized vehicles'' sales.
When SUV rollover ratings came out shortly after the Bridgestone/ Firestone reports in 2002, none of the SUVs included received a 4 or 5 star rollover rating. The lack of improvement despite the SUV rollover accident settlement cases and negative publicity still did not make a dent in sales and popularity. Years after the SUV rollover accident settlements involving the Explorer and Firestone tires, U-Haul announced in January 2004 it was forbidding its stores to rent trailers to customers who plan to tow with the Ford Explorer.
The company''s decision came because it said it could no longer afford to defend product liability lawsuits that involved SUV rollover accident settlements. In September 2003, U-Haul was involved in a lawsuit and Bridgestone /Firestone ended up with the SUV rollover accident settlement resolving outside of court. Three individuals had been injured after their Explorer turned over when pulling a U-Haul.
Over the years, SUV rollover accidents have continued to come under attack. Public Citizen consumer group has been especially aggressive in lobbying for stricter safety standards. The industry has finally responded, but not adequately according to the group. In December 2003, the group issued a statement regarding the inadequacy of the automobile industry''s announcement to implement a voluntary program of safety tests they believe will lead to increased vehicle compatibility and require that most vehicles be equipped with side-impact air bags by 2009.
The known dangers of SUVs, including SUV rollover has been well documented for years and Public Citizen thinks the voluntary program is "a diversionary tactic to stave off meaningful federal regulation and standards that consumers can rely on." Based purely on past "voluntary programs", evidence shows these measures will not be sufficient to ensuring safety according to the consumer group.
In 2003, reports showed that the latest SUV safety ratings still failed to award any SUV tested with the federal agency''s highest safety rating of five stars. In addition, SUV rollover deaths increased over 14% from the previous year, yet new SUV sales in 1985 compared to 2003 jumped from 2% to 25%. As the number of SUV rollover accident settlements increase, perhaps the pressure on the automobile industry to implement stricter safety standards will result.
A California court of appeals ordered Ford Motor Company to pay a jury award of $82.6 million to a woman left paralyzed after a rollover accident in 2002.
In June 2004, Benetta Buell-Wilson and her husband were awarded $369 million, including ...
The first Congress attempt to mandate a standard for SUV rollover protection was in the mid-1980s right after SUVs began to grow in popularity. The auto industry has been able to block any SUV rollover standard thus far, though pressure for congressio...
A San Diego County jury awarded $369 million to a woman left paralyzed when her Ford Explorer rolled over, marking one of the largest personal-injury awards ever against an automaker.
Benetta Buell-Wilson was awarded $246 million in puniti...