Woodstock Woman Sues Ford In Wreck
Lawsuit Blames Car’s Throttle System
Posted: February 26, 2013
A Woodstock woman has filed a lawsuit against the Ford Motor Co., claiming her vehicle suddenly accelerated without her pressing the gas, causing her to careen into a pole.
Audrey Fravel of Woodstock filed the suit in U.S. District Court last week.
Suit documents state that Fravel, 75, “sustained serious and permanent injuries, resulting in great physical pain, discomfort, mental anguish and disfigurement.”
Brad Pollack, attorney for Fravel, said she was hospitalized for about 10 days following the wreck.
“[Her injuries] were pretty bad,” he said.
The complaint states that on the afternoon of Nov. 16, Fravel was backing out of a parking spot in front of the Woodstock Peebles on U.S. 11 when her 2010 Ford Edge suddenly began moving forward “at a high speed,” though she had not applied the accelerator.
The suit goes on to say the vehicle did not respond when Fravel applied the brakes. The car then struck the concrete base of a parking lot light pole, the lawsuit states.
Fravel accuses Ford of negligence in the suit and asserts that the car should have been equipped with a “brake override system” that would have favored the application of the brake over the “electronic throttle system.”
The complaint also alleges that Ford officials knew that vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control systems have been shown to unintentionally accelerate more often than those without the system, according to independent studies and other reports. Pollack said he served Ford with a summons last week and expects a response to be filed within the next two weeks.
Fravel, he reported, is still feeling the effects of the November incident.
“She’s getting around but she still has aches, issues and problems,” he said. “[She’s doing] as well as any 75-year-old woman could expect to.”
Pollack said he has not yet seen all the medical expenses, but he expects them to amount to well over $60,000.
Jay Cooney, a spokesman for Ford, said the company is “evaluating the claims” in the lawsuit. “It would be premature for us to discuss the case in detail as our own review has just started,” Cooney wrote in an email.
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com
Audrey Fravel of Woodstock filed the suit in U.S. District Court last week.
Suit documents state that Fravel, 75, “sustained serious and permanent injuries, resulting in great physical pain, discomfort, mental anguish and disfigurement.”
Brad Pollack, attorney for Fravel, said she was hospitalized for about 10 days following the wreck.
“[Her injuries] were pretty bad,” he said.
The complaint states that on the afternoon of Nov. 16, Fravel was backing out of a parking spot in front of the Woodstock Peebles on U.S. 11 when her 2010 Ford Edge suddenly began moving forward “at a high speed,” though she had not applied the accelerator.
The suit goes on to say the vehicle did not respond when Fravel applied the brakes. The car then struck the concrete base of a parking lot light pole, the lawsuit states.
Fravel accuses Ford of negligence in the suit and asserts that the car should have been equipped with a “brake override system” that would have favored the application of the brake over the “electronic throttle system.”
The complaint also alleges that Ford officials knew that vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control systems have been shown to unintentionally accelerate more often than those without the system, according to independent studies and other reports. Pollack said he served Ford with a summons last week and expects a response to be filed within the next two weeks.
Fravel, he reported, is still feeling the effects of the November incident.
“She’s getting around but she still has aches, issues and problems,” he said. “[She’s doing] as well as any 75-year-old woman could expect to.”
Pollack said he has not yet seen all the medical expenses, but he expects them to amount to well over $60,000.
Jay Cooney, a spokesman for Ford, said the company is “evaluating the claims” in the lawsuit. “It would be premature for us to discuss the case in detail as our own review has just started,” Cooney wrote in an email.
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com