Posted on 03/07/2012 8:56:41 AM PST by smokingfrog
Allegations of faulty car design are at the center of a lawsuit by an injured Fresno teen against Ford Motor Co.
Shaela Warkentin, 16, suffered serious head and facial injuries a year ago when the 2000 Ford Mustang she was riding in was rear-ended by a pickup. Shaela's head was pinned against the rear edge of the car's roof, and rescuers had to cut the roof from the car to free her. The injuries cost the girl her eyesight and left her hospitalized for weeks.
Fresno attorney Warren Paboojian filed the suit Friday on behalf of Shaela and her sister, Karissa Warkentin, now 21, who was driving the Mustang when it was hit. Shaela was riding in the back seat behind her sister.
Ford products have been the target of defect lawsuits before, but Shaela's may be the first aimed at the Mustang's rear window.
In addition to Ford, the suit names the driver of the pickup, Douglas Lindsey, 68, for negligence in the March 8 crash at a stoplight at Barstow and Maroa avenues in northwest Fresno. Lindsey was arrested in the wake of the crash for driving under the influence of the painkiller Vicodin.
The suit alleges that the design of the 2000 Ford Mustang put back-seat passengers at risk in rear-end collisions because of inadequate crush protection, too little space between the rear window and the head of a back-seat passenger, a lack of advanced ejection-resistant glass in the rear window and the lack of headrests for rear-seat passengers.
(Excerpt) Read more at fresnobee.com ...
Yep, there were various names. Fastback, Sportsroof, 2+2 - all pretty much the same thing. The '79-'93 Mustangs carried the same basic shape in the Hatchback models, too.
I don’t know. Look at the skid marks. Looks like the rear end of the Mustang came around while skidding.
See post 16. I thought so.
I’m surprised the poor girl was not outright killed.
And yet - looking back at that truck and how it appears hardly damaged.....
Just another reminder of what is safer these days.
More than likely, I won’t be comfortable in it. I am going this afternoon or tomorrow for a test drive.
Hate to disagree with you but I will. :-)
I own a 2002 Mustang convertible and have no problems backing up with the top up or down. Down does provide a better all around view when backing, but the back window is large enough to see where you’re going.
my sentiments exactly. Even though I don’t care for the lopeback ( how do you crawl back there to clean the inside? Ford has passed the standard battery of safety testing by industry standards.
and 49&50 chevy and olds was called torpedo.
I guess insurance payout wasn't "enough" and the at-fault driver wasn't wealthy.
Now she's "seeing" dollar signs in the form of free money from Ford. She just needs a jury and to buy a couple "experts" and she's golden. Unfortunately, the way it works, it doesn't matter how little responsibility the jury could assign Ford.
It's a sham and she should thank Ford engineers, the NTSB, her doctors and God that she only lost her sight. She's not of legal age so someone is clearly influencing her here.
Aerodynamics
Ford has to meet that federal CAFE standard, doncha know.
a couple of interesting comments at the bee
.... So Ford is supposed to pay because something bad happened in one of their cars? Well I know people that got pregnant in the back seat of Fords maybe they should sue for child support after all Ford should have known it could happen.....
....So if a meth-head breaks into my house and steals a bunch of stuff - and I don’t have adequate insurance to cover it - I get to sue my builder?.....
“But that is true with all rag tops.”
So are you saying that all people who wear turbans can’t see behind them and back up very well?
;-D
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