American multinational automobile manufacturer, Ford Motor Company has been asked by a jury to pay more than $1.7 billion over a 2014 rollover accident that killed a Georgia couple.
According to the attorney, Gerald Davidson, jurors delivered their verdict on punitive damages following a 14-day trial in state court in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Davidson had also said that a day before the verdict, the jury awarded the family of Melvin and Voncile Hill $24 million in compensatory damages and allocated 70% of the blame to Ford.
The attorney also confirmed details of the case reported earlier by Courtroom View Network: The Hills were driving from their farm in Reynolds, Georgia, in a 2002 Ford F-250 pickup when a tire ruptured and the truck rolled over, crushing them.
In their suit, the Hill family claimed that Ford knew the roofs of the F-250 pickups was too flimsy to protect riders in the event of a roll-over but failed to warn consumer and stuck to the defective roof design until 2016.
“We are very, very happy for the Hill family and very happy for the advancement of automobile safety,” Davidson said.
It’s imperative to note that in Georgia, 75% of proceeds from punitive damage verdicts go to the state. The rest is split between the plaintiffs and the lawyers.
It’s also on record that large punitive damage awards are often scaled back by judges or appeals courts when they are found to be disproportionate to compensatory damages.
