Scheer v. Ford

Summary

In this automotive industry product liability proceeding, plaintiff Patricia Scheer alleged Ford Motor Co. of being liable for manufacturing defective seats of its car Mercury Mountaineer, due to which the plaintiff suffered serious injury when plaintiff’s 1999 Mercury Mountaineer was rear-ended while she was stopped at a red light. The force of the rear-end collision allegedly collapsed plaintiff's seat, sending her backwards. The plaintiff was then suddenly thrust forward when her vehicle struck the GMC Yukon in front of her.

Plaintiff asserted that when Ford was designing the Mercury Mountaineer, it used two seat designs: one that would withstand a moderate-speed rear-end collision, and one that would not. Ford allegedly chose for the Mountaineer the seat that would collapse, which resulted in Scheer's severe injuries.

Ford claimed that the blame had to be assigned to the driver who struck Scheer's vehicle. According to Ford, the seat properly yielded to protect the occupant in the event of a rear-impact, and the Mountaineer's seat was safe, well-tested, exceeded every government standard (including FMVSS 207), and performed as intended in the crash.

One of Scheer's injuries was a cut to her leg, which became infected with an antibiotic resistant bacteria. Scheer required maggot therapy -- the intentional introduction of maggots into the wound to clean out only the necrotic (dead) tissue. The plaintiff sought to recover $10M, plus over $400,000 in medical expenses

Plaintiff Patricia Scheer was represented by attorney Thomas Christensen and Cara Xidis. The defendant in this case, Ford Motor Co Inc. was represented by attorney Jay Schuttert.



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