Verdicts & Decisions

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Oklahoma jury says Ford not liable in F-350 rollover

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - On June 8, 2005, after two hours of deliberations, an Oklahoma City jury said Ford Motor Company was not responsible for injuries related to a 2003 rollover crash.

Alfred Doolin, a retired telephone company worker, claimed the roof on Ford's 1999 F-350 Supercab truck has inadequate roof strength, collapses during rollovers and did not meet federal safety standards for strength. At trial, Ford defense attorneys proved that even if Ford made a stronger roof, it still would not have prevented Doolin’s injuries in this crash.

The lawsuit stemmed from a 2003 single vehicle crash where Mr. Doolin, age 62 at the time, was injured when his F-350 flipped over on Interstate 44 near Joplin, Missouri. Attempting to pass a semi-truck, Doolin drove off the road into the center median after sideswiping the semi, then shot back across the road and rolled the vehicle. Doolin also claimed his truck accelerated unexplainably while attempting to pass the semi. As the truck rolled over, Doolin's head hit the roof, snapping his spinal cord, causing a C-5 spinal cord injury, rendering him a quadriplegic. Doolin was wearing his seat belt when he lost control of the truck. Doolin’s son and nephew, who were both riding on the passenger side, sustained minor injuries.

Although there was a significant amount of roof crush, Ford defense attorneys and experts showed the jury that the injury happened before there was any significant damage to the roof, and not because of the roof crush as Doolin claimed.

Case Name: Doolin v. Ford Motor Co.

Case Number: CJ-2003-8124

Attorneys for Doolin: W. Randolph (Randy) Barnhart, Barnhart, Ekker & McNally, L.L.P., Englewood, CO

Attorneys for Ford Motor Company: Thomas M. Klein and Barry C. Toone of Bowman and Brooke LLP in Phoenix.

Experts for Doolin: Steve Forrest (roof and seat belt design) Goleta, CA; Martha Bidez (injury mechanism) Birmingham, AL, Anne Stodola (accident reconstruction) Denver, CO.

Experts for Ford: Jarrod Carter of Origin Engineering (accident reconstruction) Spokane WA; Tom Tiede of Tiede Engineering (seat belt and roof design) Huntington Beach, CA; Deb Marth of Ford Motor Company (rollover testing and injuries) Dearborn, MI; Elizabeth Raphael, MD. of Piziali & Associates (injury mechanism) San Carlos, CA.