AUGUST 11, 2009 – A woman died in a Ford Explorer rollover accident Monday afternoon in eastern San Diego County, authorities have reported. The fatal Ford Explorer rollover crash occurred just before 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, on SR-79, just north of Wolahi Road, near Lake Cuyamaca. According to reports, the driver lost control of the 2001 Ford Explorer, which rolled several times before it crashed into a large pine tree west of the road. The driver, identified as Charlotte Lorraine Winn, 73, of Julian, was flown to Escondido’s Palomar Medical Center with critical injuries. She died a short time after arrival. Her 68-year-old husband suffered moderate injuries in the crash, and was taken by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital. The CHP is investigating the Highway 79 rollover accident.

This tragic crash is just one example of the many Ford Explorer rollover crashes that have occurred since Ford Explorers were first introduced in 1990. Hundreds have died and many more have been very seriously hurt in Explorer rollovers such as this one in the United States. Although Ford insists their vehicles are safe, the Washington Post and other research analysts have found that Ford Explorers have a higher rollover propensity than any other sport utility vehicle (SUV), due to an allegedly defective design. Victims of Ford Explorer rollover crashes may be entitled to compensation for their injuries or the wrongful death of a family member. Ford has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to victims in Ford Explorer lawsuit verdicts and settlements.

The biggest Ford Explorer rollover verdict awarded from Ford Motor Company for such a rollover accident was awarded to a San Diego woman, in the amount of $369 million. The San Diego woman, who was paralyzed in a January 2002 accident near Alpine in eastern San Diego County, offered to knock $100 million off the damages if Ford would recall the allegedly defectively designed Explorers, but Ford insisted that the vehicles were safe.

For more information about lawsuits, product liability issues and victims’ rights involving Ford Explorer rollover accidents, contact attorneys Stephen Estey or Mike Bomberger at Estey & Bomberger, LLP at (619)295-0035.

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JULY 28, 2009 - A shop foreman suffered serious burns when a radiator hose burst at a North San Diego County garage, authorities said. The accident happened shortly before 11 a.m. in the 2041 block of Mission Avenue, according to the Oceanside Fire Department. The employee, estimated to be in his 30s, was inspecting the car when the hose burst, spraying hot coolant from his abdomen to his knees, authorities said. The victim was estimated to have second-degree burns over 10-percent of his body. The man was airlifted to UCSD Medical Center’s burn unit and listed in stable condition, authorities said. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the scalding injury.