$17,716,401 Jury Verdict – Automobile Product Liability

Alan Hamilton, a partner at Shiver Hamilton Campbell, was co-counsel in a three-week product liability trial against Ford Motor Company in Clayton County, Georgia. The trial team obtained a very large compensatory damages verdict for their clients. The jury also decided to award additional punitive damages against Ford Motor Company. While the jury was out deciding the amount of punitive damages to award, Ford offered to settle the case.

The case involved a head-on wreck on Christmas Day. The client suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury in the wreck due to a defective rear seat restraint system and lap only seat belt, which failed and allowed her to jackknife over her seat belt during the wreck and strike the front seatback. Two international corporate defense law firms represented defendants.