When your spinal column is hurt in an accident that was not your fault, you have rights and laws protecting you so that you can help to get your life back on track as you continue to live with paralysis.  Because of those laws, Ford Motor Company will be required to pay $23.4 million to a woman who became quadriplegic after a 2007 car accident involving a Ford vehicle, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

Our spinal cord injury attorneys in San Diego know that a car accident is one of the top causes of paralysis and sometimes they cannot be avoided.  That being said, if a manufacturing design lead to an accident which caused your spinal cord injury, then the company who made the car could be forced to pay your cost of living, as well as help you through your paralysis treatment.

Design flaws on Ford’s part are being blamed for creating the accident, wearing the tires and causing the tread to unspool, essentially making the wheel’s useless and dangerous to drive on.  In this case, this auto accident might have left one woman quadriplegic for the rest of her life.

Back in 2007, the woman in this case was driving her 1997 Ford Explorer along a California freeway when her left-rear tire’s tread started to become undone and separate, causing her to careen off the road and roll down an embankment three times before coming to a stop.  Her legs were crushed and her spinal cord was also severely damaged in the SUV crash.

A unanimous verdict from the jury, in her favor, lead to her being awarded $23.4 million, even though Ford’s lawyers tried to argue that tire tread’s which separate have nothing to do with design defects on the automobiles that the auto giant produces.  Ford plans to appeal the decision.

The spinal cord injury lawyers at our San Diego law firm want to remind you to check your tire’s pressure and tread consistency and to routinely rotate your tires and make sure your alignment is properly in place.  This can help reduce the wear-and-tear that eats away at your tires and, even in a perfectly designed car, can cause paralyzing accidents such as this one.

If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident and suffered a spinal cord injury or paralysis, we urge you to contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible following the accident at 1-858-551-2090 or please click here for a free consultation with an experienced spinal cord injury lawyer in San Diego.  We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing until we recover money on your behalf.