Ford Settles for $6 Million in Suit
A Carlsbad family has won a record $6-million liability settlement against the Ford Motor Co., it was announced Tuesday night.
Also on Tuesday, the Carlsbad City Council, a party in the suit, agreed to award the James Miller family of La Costa $550,000 in connection with a Nov. 13, 1988, car crash that killed 11-year-old James Miller Jr. and paralyzed his twin, Richard.
After the council’s action, the family’s attorney, Craig McClellan of San Diego, revealed that Ford had confidentially consented to pay the family $6 million if Carlsbad also settled.
That ends a major case that focused on Detroit’s purported desire to sacrifice vehicle safety for profit.
“Ford never offered the U.S. market the rear-seat shoulder harness mandated by law in European Escorts because of their expense, $12 per belt,” McClellan said. “Most importantly, this landmark settlement clearly demonstrates that manufacturers will be responsible for failing to install the shoulder restraints in pre-1990 models.”
James Miller was driving his family in their 1986 Ford Escort along a notorious “S” curve north of La Costa Avenue and south of Melrose Drive when the car collided head-on with one driven by Theresa Vargas of San Marcos.
The 32-m.p.h. impact demolished the front of the Miller’s car, killing James Jr. and paralyzing Richard from the waist down. Miller and his wife, Patricia, escaped serious injury. Vargas died later.
The family sued Ford for $23 million, charging that the auto giant had been negligent by failing to install rear shoulder harnesses. The two children were riding in the back seat, with lap-only seat belts and snapped forward violently. The Miller’s also sued Carlsbad, claiming the city knew the stretch of road was dangerous and needed repair.
We wanted to prove that lap belts aren’t safe, and need shoulder harnesses to go with them, James Miller said after the settlements were disclosed.
“We feel very strongly about the safety issue with cars,” Miller said. “We feel that general public has been misled for two decades.”
McClellan said a tentative settlement with Ford was worked out in San Diego Superior Court but remained confidential until Carlsbad also settled. Carlsbad’s action was critical to the overall settlement, because the city and Ford cross-sued each other and council’s action signaled that those complaints could be dropped.
According to McClellan, the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration in 1972 required all American auto makers to weld anchorages for rear-seat harnesses in their products.
McClellan said Ford “never told consumers they (anchorages) were there, and they didn’t make shoulder harnesses available.”
He said simple seat belts don’t provide adequate safety and the Miller children “suffered their injury because the seat belt acted like a knife and cut across the middle,” breaking both their spines.
After the settlement with Ford was announced, Patricia Miller said “the company didn’t even make the harnesses available to us as an option. We put our trust in Ford, and they let us down.”
“We strongly encourage other car owners to insist that rear seat shoulder harnesses be installed in their vehicles,” she said.
