Home Case Results Stansell v. Ford Motor Co.

Product Liability / Rollover / Roof Crush Cash Settlement

04/15/2002 - Confidential

Stansell v. Ford Motor Co ., Court of Common Pleas, Hampton County, South Carolina. Martha Stansell and her husband, Major Jackson Stansell, brought suit against Ford after they were involved in a rollover in a 1996 Ford Explorer. During the rollover, the roof structure of the Explorer crushed downward into the Stansells’ occupant space, striking them and leaving Martha a quadriplegic (fracture at C-6, C-7) and Major a paraplegic (fracture at T-3). They were both wearing their seatbelts and were both on the passenger side of the Explorer where the roof crushed. On the driver’s side of the Explorer where the roof did not crush, the two occupants suffered much less severe injuries from which they have fully recovered.

I was in a complex premises liability case involving a multinational corporations. Mr. Butler & his associates were always three steps ahead of these defendants. When they say they are "exceptional trial lawyers," this is not just a slogan but it is a way of life.”
- Zack Hendon