Ford, tire company settle with families over SUV lawsuits
Published: Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities
Author: Pam Louwagie
Date: December 18, 2002
Two families thought to be among the first in Minnesota to sue the Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. over sport-utility vehicle rollovers have settled, their attorney said this week.
Adam Burrows, 19, of Maple Grove, was paralyzed in April 2000 when his parents’ Ford Explorer with Firestone tires rolled after a deer darted in front of it on Hwy. 169 between Milaca and Princeton. Amy Anderson, 17, of Soiway, Minn., was killed in July 2000 when an Explorer she was riding in, also with Firestones, rolled near her home.
Their attorney, Greg McEwen of St. Paul, argued that both companies were liable because the tires were made for the vehicles and they were advertised and promoted together.
The companies admitted no liability. McEwen said he finished work on the cases last week with payments to the state for medical expenses for Burrows.
Firestone paid Burrows $25,000 and the Anderson family $10,000, said attorney Jim Simonson, who represented the company.
Simonson said the company settled for “a very low amount, I think, in light of the cost of litigation today,” he said. “I don’t think anybody who was on the scene of either of these accidents were able to attribute the accident to the tires.”
Confidential settlements with Ford and the Burrowses’ insurance company “I think will help Adam the rest of his life,” McEwen said.
Copyright 2002 - Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities