Defective Design: Man Burns to Death in Defective Ford Truck
Brazos County, Texas: On September 15, 2006, a dump truck jack-knifed and struck Augustin Hernandez in his employer’s 1998 Ford F150 pickup, causing Mr. Hernandez to strike the truck in front of him, which overturned Mr. Hernandez’s pickup. The fuel system in the Ford F150 failed, resulting in an immediate fuel fed fire, bursting into flames. Augustin Hernandez was trapped in the blazing pickup and burned to death.
Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair LLP filed a suit contending that the 1998 Ford F150 pickup was defective due to its fuel system design, and was a producing cause of Mr. Hernandez’s death. This case settled for a confidential sum.