Lawyers acting for a student injured in a rollover accident in 1999 have opened a lawsuit against Ford and Firestone in Los Angeles by charging the companies deliberately hid problems concerning tyre tread separation.
College student Cristina Hernandez suffered brain injuries following a rollover accident on her Ford Explorer allegedly caused by tyre tread separation on a rear tyre. One of the passengers in the vehicle died.
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In remarks reported by Reuters, plaintiff attorney John Denove told a Los Angeles jury in an opening statement: “This is a case about two companies who literally put profits over people’s lives.”
Hernandez is seeking damages that include compensation for a lost career as a surgeon, which she maintains is a result of her injuries.
Attorneys for Ford and Firestone are expected to say that the tyre had been damaged before the accident and that the injuries Hernandez has sustained do not prevent her from becoming a surgeon.
The trial is expected to last three months.
In one similar case that went to jury trial, Firestone settled before a verdict was returned.
