Verdicts & Decisions

CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE.

Unanimous defense verdict for Ford and Evenflo in Florida child restraint case

St. Petersburg, FL -- On July 25, 2007, a Pinellas County, FL jury released Ford Motor Company from a $23 million claim brought against Ford and Evenflo Company, Inc. by the mother of a child who suffered a catastrophic brain injury in a car accident in 2003.

The child, Kaitlyn, age five at the time of the accident, was restrained in an Evenflo child seat in the rear passenger-side seat of a 1993 Ford Escort. As Kaityln's mother drove Kaitlyn to preschool, they were struck by a vehicle that turned directly in front of them. Kaitlyn struck the seat in front of her and suffered a severe brain injury.

Kaitlyn's mother alleged that the 1993 Ford Escort was defective because it did not come with tether anchors to attach the child seat installed in the vehicle, the restraint system was defective, the vehicle came with inadequate warnings, and the vehicle was incompatible with child seats. Plaintiffs alleged negligence, strict liability, and inadequate warnings against Ford.

Ford's expert witnesses testified that Kaitlyn would not have been as severely injured (or possibly not injured at all) if the child seat had been installed correctly by Kaitlyn's mother. Kaitlyn's mother made numerous installation errors - all of which would have been avoided if Kaitlyn's mother had read the owner's manual for the Ford vehicle and the Evenflo child seat. Additionally, Ford's experts testified that the 1993 Escort met or exceeded all FMVSS and was fully capable of protecting a properly restrained occupant.

After a trial lasting two-and-a-half weeks, on July 25, 2007, the six person jury returned a complete defense verdict after five hours of deliberations.

Case: Jerriann McDonald as mother and natural guardian of Kaitlyn McDonald, a minor, v. Ford Motor Company and Evenflo Company, Inc.

Court File No. 03-10135-Cl-11

Court: The Circuit Court of Pinellas County, FL

Defense Counsel: Ford Motor Company was represented by Sandra Giannone Ezell of Bowman and Brooke LLP, Richmond, VA and by Frank McDonald, Penelope Dixon, and Joe Lang of Carlton Fields, PA.

Evenflo Company, Inc. was represented by Art Laplante and Neil Covone, both of Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLC

Plaintiffs Counsel: Plaintiffs were represented by Jim Carter of Carter & Tate and Hugh Smith and Christopher Roberts of Smith Fuller

Expert witnesses for the plaintiffs: Kelly Kennett from Suwanee, GA for accident reconstruction and biomechanics; Gary Whitman of Penns Park, PA for child restraints; David Leonard of Bethlehem, GA for warnings; Dr. James Boone of Holiday, FL as a clinical neurophysiologist; Paul Deutsch of Oviedo, FL as a life care planner; and Matthew Druckman of Coral Gables, FL

Expert witnesses for Evenflo: Nathan Dorris of Atlanta, GA for warnings; Dr. Sally Kolitz-Russell of Miami, FL as a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist (shared with Ford); Dr. Stuart Brown of Hollywood, FL as a pediatric neurologist (shared with Ford); and Dr. William Van Arsdel of Boston, MA on restraints

Expert witnesses for Ford: Deborah Marth of Carlton, MI for biomechanics; Dr. Geoffrey Germane of Orem, UT for accident reconstruction (shared with Evenflo); and Jane Welch of San Antonio, TX for warnings