Case Notes

Woman Run Over by Her Own SUV Gets $32M

In Mundy v. Ford Motor Co., No. 07-A-74503-2, De Kalb County Super.Ct.,GA, May 6, 2009, a woman who was paralyzed when her Ford sport utility vehicle ran her over because of an alleged transmission defect recovered $32 million. Jessica Mundy argued the 2004 Ford Explorer slipped from park to reverse after she got out of the SUV to put a package in a mailbox. As the SUV started rolling backward, Mundy tried to hop inside, but she was knocked to the ground by the door that she had left open. She sued Ford, alleging a design defect, and Legacy Ford Mercury Inc., for breach of warranty. The jury found that both defendants were liable, but Mundy was 20% liable for trying to get back inside the truck, which reduced the $40 million award.

Driver Injured in a Crash Involving a Nissan Gets $2.2M

A jury awarded nearly $2.2 million to a woman who claimed she was injured in a crash with her 1995 Nissan Pathfinder because the automaker did not do adequate crash testing. Perdue v. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., No. 2:07-CV-546 (E.D. Tx., May 1, 2009).

Rebecca Perdue, who is in her 60s, sustained fractures to her right leg and both ankles. She claimed Nissan failed to conduct crash testing or engineering analysis to evaluate the risk of lower leg injuries in frontal “offset impacts” (head-on, but not completely lined up). She claimed that for several years all manufacturers except Nissan and two others had been conducting frontal offset crash tests to learn how to protect lower legs. The jury found that the Pathfinder was defectively designed and Nissan was solely responsible for Perdue's injuries.

Woman Run Over by Her Own SUV Gets $32M

In Mundy v. Ford Motor Co., No. 07-A-74503-2, De Kalb County Super.Ct.,GA, May 6, 2009, a woman who was paralyzed when her Ford sport utility vehicle ran her over because of an alleged transmission defect recovered $32 million. Jessica Mundy argued the 2004 Ford Explorer slipped from park to reverse after she got out of the SUV to put a package in a mailbox. As the SUV started rolling backward, Mundy tried to hop inside, but she was knocked to the ground by the door that she had left open. She sued Ford, alleging a design defect, and Legacy Ford Mercury Inc., for breach of warranty. The jury found that both defendants were liable, but Mundy was 20% liable for trying to get back inside the truck, which reduced the $40 million award.

Driver Injured in a Crash Involving a Nissan Gets $2.2M

A jury awarded nearly $2.2 million to a woman who claimed she was injured in a crash with her 1995 Nissan Pathfinder because the automaker did not do adequate crash testing. Perdue v. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., No. 2:07-CV-546 (E.D. Tx., May 1, 2009).

Rebecca Perdue, who is in her 60s, sustained fractures to her right leg and both ankles. She claimed Nissan failed to conduct crash testing or engineering analysis to evaluate the risk of lower leg injuries in frontal “offset impacts” (head-on, but not completely lined up). She claimed that for several years all manufacturers except Nissan and two others had been conducting frontal offset crash tests to learn how to protect lower legs. The jury found that the Pathfinder was defectively designed and Nissan was solely responsible for Perdue's injuries.