According to the Louisiana Record, Ford Motor Co is named as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit caused by asleep-at-the-wheel driver. Everett Chad Ganier filed a lawsuit against the automaker, Inner Parish Security Corp., Darryl J. Batiste and ABC Insurer in Jefferson Parish District Court. The case was then moved to federal court in New Orleans by defendant’s request.
Ganier claims he was injured in a car accident in September 2010, while riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by co-worker Darryl Batiste and owned by Inner Parish Security Corp. Ganier states Batiste was speeding while driving the vehicle and then fell asleep at the wheel. Batiste awoke and then grabbed the wheel. The vehicle swerved out of control, crossing the median and hitting several vehicles in a head-on collision. Ganier claims he was severely injured by Batiste’s actions, and some of his injuries resulted when the seat belt in the Ford Taurus failed to function properly. The lawsuit alleges the seat belt was loose and did not protect properly.
This is not the first time Ford has faced legal action over seat belt failure. In 2010, the company reached a settlement with the family of a 22-year-old man who died in a Ford Explorer rollover accident following a tire blowout. The family claimed that the seat belt failed due to defective design and that the driver was ejected from the vehicle, causing fatal injuries.
Ganier is seeking damaged for bodily injury, physical pain and mental anguish, severe emotional distress, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical expenses, loss of ability to earn money and of actual earnings, mental distress, interests and court costs.