Our New York Personal Injury Lawyers Depose Ford Engineers

Partners Howard Raphaelson and Andrew Levine will be in Detroit on April 1st, 2008 to depose Ford Engineers relating to a product liability lawsuit involving a 1999 Ford Windstar. The lawsuit alleges that the vehicle was released for production with a design defect involving the latch that connected the middle row seating to the base of the vehicle. The middle row seating in the vehicle was removable. The removable seating was a new design that Ford was using to market to consumers as providing versatility for the user. The claim is that Ford designed the latch in a manner that allowed for misuse because the user had no way of ensuring that the latch was in place. The placement of the latch was not visible to the user nor were there any other visual cues, warnings or instructions in or around the seat that allowed the user to ensure the latch was safely in place. If the seat is not properly latched (as was the situation in this case) the occupant is not restrained and is thrown during a car accident. In this case, the occupant was wearing a seatbelt, however the seatbelt was attached to the seat not the vehicle, and therefore the seatbelt did not act as a restraint at the time of the car accident. The child that we represent was paralyzed as a result of this auto accident and will suffer for the rest of his life. The Raphaelson law firm intends to prove that Ford had the technology to safely design the latch and prevent injuries, but failed to do so and instead put profits before safety.

Additional Resources:
• Recalls issued for 1999 Ford Windstar