Brain Injury Victim Awarded $32.5M

May 23, 2007

A Florida jury recently awarded $32.5 million in damages to a man who sustained severe brain injuries when his seatbelt failed during a head-on collision in 1996.

Mark Force, now 38, was driving a 1993 Ford Escort when his car was struck head-on by a Ford Mustang that swerved into his lane to pass another vehicle. According to the lawsuit, Forces seatbelt failed to lock up and prevent him from being thrown forward.

Since the time of the accident, Forcewho had to have 20 percent of his brain removedhas been in and out of medical facilities to treat his brain injuries. His condition will require long-term care.

Forces family filed a negligence lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp., which was responsible for the seatbelts design, in 1999. The lawsuit accused the companies of failing to warn consumers about the Escorts seatbelt defect.

They had five years of warning to do something about this on Ford Escorts and Mercury Tracers but did nothing about it, said Ben Hogan, one of Forces attorneys. In the United States, they had 45 complaints before Mark Forces case about the belt not locking up in crashes.

The jury verdict includes more than $7 million for Forces medical care and $22 for his pain and suffering.

(Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/)

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