Products Liability Law Reporter

John Wickersham Jr. was involved in a serious car crash while driving his 2010 Ford Escape. He suffered significant facial injuries that led to chronic pain, among other problems. Wickersham died by suicide approximately 18 months later. His wife sued Ford Motor Co., alleging negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant’s air bag system was defective and led to Wickersham’s facial injuries, which, in turn, led to his suicide. A jury awarded the plaintiff $4.65 million. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded for reconsideration of the defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law.

Denying the motion, the district court considered the defendant’s argument that the plaintiff had not proved proximate cause to find it liable for Wickersham’s death and that, specifically, the plaintiff had offered no evidence that Wickersham’s death was foreseeable. Disagreeing with the defense argument, the court found that the plaintiff had presented extensive evidence at trial showing that Ford had been specifically aware that air bags pose the risk of serious injuries, including facial and eye injuries. Additionally, the court said, the plaintiff had presented substantial evidence at trial showing a direct link between chronic pain and suicidal ideation. As such, it was not unreasonable for a jury to conclude that suicide was a specifically foreseeable consequence of a defectively deployed air bag and that Wickersham’s injuries, chronic pain, and suicide were all part of a foreseeable chain of events.

Accordingly, the court concluded that the defendant was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Citation: Wickersham v. Ford Motor Co., 2022 WL 1523043 (D.S.C. May 13, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: Kathleen Chewning Barnes, AAJ member Mark D. Ball, and AAJ member Ronnie L. Crosby, all of Hampton, S.C.; and AAJ member Don C. Gibson, North Charleston, S.C.