DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Bim forwarded this story about Ford’s courtroom loss in an SUV rollover case (mirror):

SAN DIEGO — A jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay nearly $369 million to a woman paralyzed in a rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer, the nation’s best-selling sport utility vehicle…
The trial, which began March 15, involved a January 2002 accident on an interstate highway near Alpine, Calif., east of San Diego. The driver, Benetta Buell-Wilson, swerved to avoid a metal object and lost control of her 1997 Explorer, which rolled 4 1/2 times.

This is a precedent-setting case. It will be referenced in every SUV rollover lawsuit for the next 100 years, or until SUVs stop rolling over.

Here’s a frightening quote from Ford spokesperson Kathleen Vokes (mirror) (emphasis mine):

“We can appreciate the empathy that this jury felt for the plaintiff, but this was an extremely severe crash caused by the driver and any SUV would have rolled over under similar circumstances.”