American multinational automobile manufacturer Ford has been ordered to pay a Georgia family more than a billion dollars after a couple was killed in a truck crash.
Back in April 2014, Adam and Kim Hill’s parents, Melvin and Voncille Hill were driving their 2002 Ford-250 when it rolled over. Last week, a verdict was reached in a lawsuit Adam and Kim filed against the motor vehicle company: Ford was ordered to pay the family $1.7 billion in damages.
The kids’ claimed in the civil suit that a defective roof on the Ford pickup truck was the cause of their parent’s deaths. Ford Motor Co. announced this week that it plans to appeal the verdict. According to a press release from Butler Prather LLP, the Hills were awarded $34 million in compensatory damages. NBC News reports attorneys said 30 percent of the responsibility is on the automotive service Pep Boys for “mistakenly installed the wrong size, or ‘load range’ tires on the Hills’ truck in 2010.”
“That mistake caused the right front tire to blow out, causing the wreck,” the press continues. But evidence showed at the trial “showed the wreck was survivable, and the crushing of the roof caused the injuries that led to the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Hill,” NBC News reports.
In a statement, Ford said it would be filing an appeal on verdict. “While our sympathies go out to the Hill family, we don’t believe the verdict is supported by the evidence, and we plan to appeal,” the spokesperson said.
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