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Jury
returns $43 million verdict against Ford April 19, 2005 A jury in Madison County Circuit Court returned a verdict of more than $43 million against Ford Motor Co. Tuesday night in a wrongful death case filed on behalf of a man from Warrenton who died in a fiery car crash and his wife, who survived the wreck with serious burns. John Jablonski, 73, was killed and his wife, Dora Jablonski, then 70, was left with severe burns over a third of her body after another car rear-ended their 1996 Lincoln Town Car on Interstate 270 near Illinois Route 203 in Madison County in July 2003. Their car was stopped in a construction zone when it was struck. The jury found that a faulty gas tank design led to John Jablonski's death and Dora Jablonski's injuries. Ford was ordered to pay $5,067,715 to John Jablonski's estate; $23.1 million to his wife; and $15 million in punitive damages. The plaintiffs, represented by the Lakin Firm of Wood River, claimed that Ford's design, placing the fuel tank behind the rear axle, was dangerous. Ford could have moved the tank, shielded the tank or warned customers about the danger, but did not, attorney Brad Lakin said. Ford said the design was safe and blamed the crash on the 21-year-old student who hit the Jablonskis, failing to notice they had stopped for construction work. The student was ticketed for failing to slow down to avoid an accident. The trial lasted about two weeks. Reporter
Paul Hampel
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