Dhe American automobile company Ford is said to have paid $1.7 billion (almost 1.7 billion euros) in compensation after the accidental death of a couple. According to media reports, this was decided by a jury in the state of Georgia last Friday. Ford announced his appeal Sunday in The Wall Street Journal. The judgment was “not supported by evidence”.
Melvin and Voncile Hill died in 2014 when their Ford pickup overturned due to a flat tire. The roof of the car was pushed inward, crushing the occupants. The couple’s two children sued Ford, blaming the company for a design flaw. According to media reports, there were dozens of similar accidents involving the Ford model F-250 Super Duty.
During the three-week trial, the automaker’s lawyers cited several studies showing that the roof was strong enough to withstand an impact similar to that in the accident. She didn’t convince the jury with that. According to the court documents, Ford manufactured around 5.2 million pickups of the type from 1999 to 2016. The roof was reinforced from 2017.
The $1.7 billion consists of compensation for the plaintiffs and a penalty for the defendant in excess of the damage actually suffered. On Thursday, the same jury had already ordered Ford and garage chain Pep Boys to pay $24 million in damages for the couple’s pickup truck with defective tires.
