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Jamison v. Ford Motor Company
Date: 02-23-2004
Case Number: 2001-CP-08-1443
Judge: unknown
Court: Court of Common Pleas, Berkeley County, South Carolina
Plaintiff's Attorney: James E. Carter, Carter & Tate, P.C., Savannah, Georgia
and Sam Allen, Anastopoulo Law Firm, LLC, Charleston, South Carolina.
Defendant's Attorney: David R. Kelly, Bowman and Brooke LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota, J. Kenneth Carter, Jr., Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney, P.A., Columbia, South Carolina, and Jeffrey T. Gorcyca, Bowman and Brooke LLP, Detroit, Michigan.
Carolina rendered a unanimous defense verdict in favor of Ford Motor
Company in this 1993 Escort passive belt products liability case.
The accident underlying this litigation occurred on July 29, 1998.
Virnell Cherece Isaac, age 23, was the driver of a 1993 Escort. She
was in the process of making a left hand turn when an oncoming 1992
Chevrolet Geo Prism struck her Escort in the right front corner. The
estimated speed for the Escort was just under 20 mph and the estimated
speed of the Prism was 40-45 mph. Ms. Isaac sustained a lacerated
liver and died 15 days after the accident.
Plaintiffs' counsel contended at trial that Ms. Isaac sustained
her injuries due to alleged design defects in the passive seat belt
restraint system, knee bolster and driver's seat installed in the
subject vehicle. Ford presented evidence at trial that the restraint
system, including the passive shoulder belt, the knee bolster and the
seat installed in the 1993 Escort complied with all government
standards and were good designs. Ford showed that the type of injuries
Ms. Isaac sustained were not unusual for the forces created in this
type of accident and successfully argued that plaintiffs failed to
prove that a defect in the restraint system's design caused Ms.
Isaac's injury. Ford contended that plaintiffs did not show that any
other restraint system design advocated by plaintiffs' expert
witnesses would have changed the injury outcome in this severe
accident.
reconstruction, Dr. Joseph Burton on cause and mechanism of injury,
and Marshal Paulo on restraint system design and performance.
defense experts included Geoff Germane on accident reconstruction, Dr.
Thomas McNish on biomechanics and injury mechanism, Eddie Cooper on
litigation crash testing, and Thomas Tiede and Howard Slater on
restraint system design and performance.
Contact: Amanda Walsh, Bowman and Brooke LLP, 612-672-3248 or Awalsh@bowman-brooke.com.
About This Case
What was the outcome of Jamison v. Ford Motor Company?
The outcome was: Defense Verdict.
Which court heard Jamison v. Ford Motor Company?
This case was heard in Court of Common Pleas, Berkeley County, South Carolina, SC. The presiding judge was unknown.
Who were the attorneys in Jamison v. Ford Motor Company?
Plaintiff's attorney: James E. Carter, Carter & Tate, P.C., Savannah, Georgia and Sam Allen, Anastopoulo Law Firm, LLC, Charleston, South Carolina.. Defendant's attorney: David R. Kelly, Bowman and Brooke LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota, J. Kenneth Carter, Jr., Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney, P.A., Columbia, South Carolina, and Jeffrey T. Gorcyca, Bowman and Brooke LLP, Detroit, Michigan..
When was Jamison v. Ford Motor Company decided?
This case was decided on February 23, 2004.