$17 million verdict returned by Clayton County jury
A Clayton County jury recently awarded a $17.7 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. and a driver for a wreck that occurred Christmas morning in 2005.
The verdict was awarded to Lynn Wheeler, who suffered catastrophic injuries and is now a quadriplegic, and to her husband Doug. Wheeler was on her way to church wearing a lap-only seat belt in a 2002 Ford Explorer which was struck head-on by a car driven by John C. Stanley on Noah's Ark Road.
In a verdict returned Dec. 18, the jury found Ford responsible for $16.4 million in damages for defects in the Explorer's occupant protection system, Atlanta lawyer Alan Hamilton said in a statement. When the jury also decided to award punitive damages against Ford, Ford and the Wheelers settled the case before that verdict was announced, Hamilton said.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
