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The Tennessee Supreme Court has reinstated a $43.8 million verdict in which Ford Motor Co. was held partly at fault in a case involving a Memphis child who was paralyzed in an auto accident.
The child, Billy Meals, 6, was riding in the back seat of his grandfather's 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis on Jan. 18, 2002, when a drunk driver crossed the center line and struck the vehicle head on.
The family, according to court records, held Ford Motor Co. partially responsible for injuries sustained by the boy. The family claimed that defective design of the sedan's rear seat belt and Ford's failure to warn of a potential danger caused permanent paralysis and other injuries to the boy.
According to court documents, the child's spine was fractured when "the force of the impact caused him to jackknife over his lap seat belt and pushed the seat belt into his stomach and against his spine."
A jury agreed in 2009 and found Ford 15 percent at fault for the injuries. Ford was ordered to pay the Meals family $6.57 million.
Ford appealed the case to the Tennessee Appeals Court on the grounds that the verdict was excessive. In a divided opinion, the Appeals Court ruled the original verdict against Ford was excessive and reduced the penalty to $1.93 million.
A ruling on Friday, Aug. 30, from the Supreme Court in Jackson, Tenn., upheld the original verdict, stating that the state Appeals Court had erred in reducing the penalty and ordered Ford to pay the original sum.
Calls to Ford were not immediately returned.
You can reach Sean Gagnier at sgagnier@crain.com.
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