Victim in Rollover Accident Awarded $18.3 million from Ford Motor Corp.

By Andrew Weatherford

Published on June 05, 2009

In a verdict rendered earlier this week, a musician from Oakland, California was awarded $18.3 million in a personal injury lawsuit against the Ford Motor Corp. A federal jury found that Ford was 100 percent responsible for injuries that Dax Pierson, 38, sustained in a 2005 rollover accident.

According to the Contra Costa Times, Pierson was riding in a Ford passenger van in Iowa with members of his band when icy conditions caused the driver to lose control of the van and veer off the road. The van rolled over in a ditch and Pierson's seat came loose, causing him to hit his head on the roof of the van. He suffered severe spinal injuries that resulted in the loss of his legs and most of his arms.

Pierson was the only one of the seven passengers in the van who was injured. He is now a quadriplegic and requires continuous care as a result of the rollover accident. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California awarded him $12.3 million for medical expenses and lost earnings and $6 million for pain and suffering.

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