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Ford hides the Explorer's dangers putting thousands in unsafe vehicles

Nationwide Class Action

Attorney Edward M. Ricci served as co-counsel in the National Ford Explorer/Firestone class action lawsuit. He vigorously pursued economic protection of owners of Ford Explorer and Firestone tires, along with the nationally preeminent law firms around the country.

The Ford Explorer was prone to rollovers since it was first designed and made worse when they were equipped with under-inflated Firestone tires. Ford, with knowledge of Bridgestone/Firestone, decreased the air pressure from the tires to increase the vehicle’s stability. But by under-inflating the tires, they increased the risk of catastrophic tread separation.

These defects were proven with Ford's own stability tests. Despite the safety recommendations of its own engineers, Ford decided not to implement fundamental design changes to correct the rollover defect in order to speed the Explorer to market. Ford even launched an elaborate advertising campaign designed to deceive the public into thinking that the Ford Explorer was safe.

The lawsuit was originally certified as a national class action by Federal District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. The Defendants appealed Judge Barker's ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in May 2002. The 7th Circuit Court overturned Judge Barker's ruling and de-certified the class action lawsuit. Edward Ricci and co-counsel refuse to let the 7th Circuit opinion prevent them from fighting for their clients' rights. They re-filed state causes of action and requested class status in state courts in conformance with the 7th Circuit Court's ruling.

In response to the Ford-Firestone crashes that involved defective tires, Congress passed the TREAD Act. That law required select safety data to be gathered by the government and made available to the public.

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