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Products Liability Keyed to Fischer, 6th Ed.
Morgen v. Ford Motor Co.
Citation:
797 N.E.2d 1146 (2003)Facts
On November 14, 1993, Monterey Morgen was sitting in the rear passenger seat of a 1984 Ford Escort Station Wagon driven by Janet Snyder, with Kristy Snyder in the front passenger seat. Morgen was not wearing the seat belt provided in the back seat. While stopped at an intersection in Mishawaka, the Escort was struck from behind by a Honda Accord traveling at approximately 24-35 mph (estimates varied), causing the Escort to crash into an Oldsmobile Cierra in front of it. Morgen sustained a spinal cord injury in the accident and became quadriplegic. He filed a products liability suit against Ford, claiming the Escort was defective and unreasonably dangerous. Morgen’s experts testified that his injury occurred when the rear seat deformed upward during the crash, reducing occupant survival space and causing his head to strike the roof. Ford’s experts countered that Morgen’s neck was broken by horizontal forces that launched him into the roof as he ramped up over the seatback when the vehicle moved forward, and argued that his failure to wear a seat belt constituted misuse of the vehicle.
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