Kora Parks was killed on November 28, 2006 when she lost control of her 2001 Lincoln LS sedan while rounding a sharp curve in Lake Lotawana, Missouri. The vehicle slid off the wet road and struck a tree on the driver’s side near the B-pillar. The vehicle’s side airbags failed to deploy, and Kora suffered a fatal brain injury.
Scott Nutter and Doug Bradley along with our friend and co-counsel, Kevin Stanley of the Stanley Law Firm, filed suit against Ford alleging the side airbag system in the Lincoln LS was defectively designed. Discovery revealed that Ford – the maker of the Lincoln LS – did not properly test the vehicle’s side airbag system. Side impacts happen at a variety of speeds, locations and angles along the vehicle.
Automakers must design side airbags to provide protection for the full range of foreseeable accidents. Ford, however, only ran tests where the car was struck by a pole at 15 mph at the H-point, essentially the driver’s door handle. Ford ran all these tests at 90 degrees. We called them the “bullseye test.” Ford did not run any tests where the pole struck in front or behind the bullseye. Ford also did not run tests at an angle. When asked whether the airbag would deploy if the car was struck 6 inches behind the bullseye, or at a small angle, Ford’s in-house design engineers answered “I don’t know.” As such, Ford failed to conduct tests that would have allowed it to ensure the side airbag would deploy and provide protection in a real world accident like the one that killed Kora Parks.
Ford claimed the airbag did not deploy because the tree initially struck the Lincoln near the rear door handle and at a very sharp angle. Ford also claimed the airbag would not have protected Kora due to the severity of the crash.
The case went to trial beginning March 1, 2010, shortly after the highly-publicized Toyota sudden acceleration recall and still in the shadow of the federal government bailout of the automotive industry. Ford had spent much time and money marketing its decision to decline bailout funds. And we feared the Toyota recall would only further enhance the already strong “buy American” sentiment of eastern Jackson County, home to Ford and General Motors manufacturing plants. We knew jury selection would be critical. Although there were many among the panel who expressed strong pro-Ford sentiments, we were surprised to find the Toyota recall had created feelings of distrust toward the entire automotive industry. A handful of panel members even brought up Ford’s past transgressions with the Pinto and the Explorer. The comments allowed for an open, balanced discussion of corporate responsibility and set the stage for our case.
The case settled on the fourth day of trial following the testimony of our accident reconstruction expert.
