Ford to Pay $1.35 Million in Bronco II Rollover : Settlement: Southland man was paralyzed when his sport-utility vehicle flipped in 1990. Auto maker has said the vehicle is safe.
Ford Motor Co. has agreed to pay $1.35 million to a Riverside County man who was paralyzed when his Bronco II sport-utility vehicle rolled over, the man’s lawyer said.
Donald Taylor of Moreno Valley claimed that Ford knew even as it was developing his Bronco II that the vehicle was prone to flip but did nothing to correct the problem. Taylor, 39, was left a quadriplegic after his accident on Oct. 29, 1990.
Neither he nor his lawyer, Eugene Comroe, could be reached Sunday for further comment. Ford officials did not return phone calls seeking comment, but the auto maker has previously maintained that the Bronco is safe.
The settlement with Taylor was reached in late February but only disclosed late last week by Comroe. It was not immediately clear why Comroe waited more than two months to reveal the settlement.
Ford stopped making Broncos in 1989. More than 200 other cases have been filed against Ford over the vehicle’s alleged safety deficiencies.
In March, Ford agreed to pay $650,000 to the widow of a South Dakota man who died after his Bronco rolled over in 1988.
Last year, the car maker agreed to pay former jockey Bill Shoemaker at least $1 million to settle his claim from a 1991 wreck in a Bronco that left him a quadriplegic. Shoemaker was driving a Ford Bronco II when the vehicle veered off the road, hit a berm and rolled 50 feet down an embankment near San Dimas.
Ford denied any liability in the Shoemaker case, saying it settled out of court to avoid the expense and uncertainty of a trial.
Tests showed Shoemaker was legally drunk at the time but he was not charged with driving under the influence.
Known for its ruggedness, the Bronco II was one of Ford’s most popular vehicles during the 1980s. The auto-safety statistics began to show that about 70 people a year were killed in accidents in which Bronco IIs rolled over.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has said more than 260 people have died in Bronco rollovers. In a 1992 report, the institute concluded that the fatality rate in rollover accidents involving the rear-wheel-drive Bronco IIs was the highest of any compact-utility vehicle. It said the accident rate was three times higher than the Suzuki Samurai, which also had problems.
The Bronco II, Samurai and similar vehicles are built for use on both street and off-road terrain. The Bronco II is boxy, with a high center of gravity because its wheels are close together and its chassis is high off the ground so it can clear obstacles.
