 |
 |
|
This site requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader. DOWNLOAD
|
||||||
|
Jury
that awarded $43 million found fault with car company, foreman says April 20, 2005 A Madison County jury that awarded $43.7 million to the family of a Warrenton man who died in a fiery car crash felt that Ford Motor Co. should have issued blanket safety advisories on its vehicles, not just to police agencies, the jury foreman said Wednesday. John Jablonski, 73, was killed and his wife, Dora Jablonski, then 70, was severely burned after another car rear-ended their 1993 Lincoln Town Car on Interstate 270 near Illinois Route 203 near Granite City in July 2003. Their car was stopped in a construction zone when it was struck. Natalie S. Ingram, 24, of Highland, whose car struck the Jablonskis', told investigators that she was searching for her sunglasses before the collision. She was ticketed, fined $500 and sentenced to two years of court supervision. "Mr. Jablonski could have been saved by Ford for the price of a 37-cent stamp," said Ed Friedel, 44, of East Alton, the jury foreman. "The kicker for me and the other jurors was that the same design of gas tanks in that Town Car had caused fatal fires in police cars. Ford warned the police. They should have warned civilians." Ford attorney Doug Lampe said the company would appeal the verdict. Regarding issuing blanket warnings, Lampe said the Illinois Supreme Court had rejected such requirements. Lampe, of Detroit, said his case was hurt by Circuit Court Judge Andy Matoesian's refusal to allow the company to present certain evidence at trial. "This was a tragic accident caused by a negligent driver, searching for her sunglasses and plowing into a stationary Town Car at 65 mph," Lampe said. "The Town Car has earned the government's 5-Star crash rating, the highest vehicle crashworthiness rating possible. Unfortunately, Ford was not allowed to present this evidence to the jury. "Further, it (the Town Car) even exceeds the next-generation of fuel system standards, which are first applicable to the 2007 model year. Again, Ford was not allowed to present this evidence to the jury either." Plaintiff attorney Brad Lakin, managing partner of The Lakin Firm in Wood River, had emphasized throughout the two-week trial that the behind-the-axle fuel tank in the Town Car was the same design as that in two other Ford vehicles, the Mercury Grand Marquis, and the Crown Victoria, commonly used as a police squad car. Lakin said that 416 fiery crashes were caused by the design. In the Jablonski case, a wrench in the trunk punctured the fuel tank, causing it to explode. "Ford has known about this problem for years," Lakin said. "They warned police about how to safely store trunk item contents. They even created a trunk pack that officers can buy, with Kevlar protection, but they don't tell civilians about that." At least 20 officers across the country have died in Crown Victoria fires. Last fall, however, a circuit court jury in Belleville ruled in Ford's favor in a class-action suit seeking better fire protection for police officers in Illinois driving the cars. Jurors concluded the Crown Victoria was reasonably safe. Lampe, the Ford attorney, said that "the Illinois Supreme Court has considered and rejected a post-sale duty to warn. That theory of negligence should not have been submitted to the jury (by Matoesian), but it was. And with this case, the judge has changed Illinois law after the fact with no prior notice to Ford." Lampe also expressed frustration that the plaintiffs' co-counsel, Charles Chapman, also with The Lakin Firm, had once presided as a circuit court judge in the same courtroom where the trial took place. Chapman later served as an appellate judge in the 5th District. "Madison County is known throughout the country as being a very difficult place for an out-of-state corporation to get a fair trial," Lampe said. Going up against an ex-judge such as Chapman was, Lampe said, "a new experience for us, and an awkward one." Lakin said the award was the second largest jury verdict in Madison County history, after a $250 million verdict in an asbestos suit against U.S. Steel in 2003. He said the award is easily the largest in the history of The Lakin Firm, which has been at the forefront of personal injury litigation in Madison County for decades. Lakin said his firm would get 40 percent of the award plus expenses. Friedel, the jury foreman, defended the huge award. He said jurors considered numerous factors, such as Dora Jablonski's past and future medical costs, and an expert's testimony that someone in her situation could expect to live, on average, another 14 years. "This couple had four sons, and grandkids who will never crawl on grandpa's lap again," Friedel said. "Dora Jablonski was a very active person. She went from someone who was asking, 'Where are we going on vacation?' to someone asking, 'How am I going to get this shirt on?'" Reporter
Paul Hampel
|
||||||
