Akron, New York | $1,625,000 | Product Liability
A 37-year-old, unemployed car detailer, while adjusting the carburetor in his 1977 G.M. Scottsdale C-20 pickup truck, was injured when the radiator fan broke apart sending three blades flying off unexpectedly. Taft was struck in the eye, the head and about the face and suffered a total enucleation of his right eye, along with various facial lacerations. Ballow was ready to produce up to 50 people that had already been injured by this type of flexible radiator fan. They would have also shown at trial that at least four (4) deaths have resulted from this same type of fan failing in the past. One week before the trial was to begin, the case was settled for $1,625,000; each defendant paying one-half of the total.
Following the successful completion of the case, Ballow petitioned the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) requesting that the Federal agency force General Motors to send out warnings to owners of vehicles which contain this radiator flex fan as a component part. NHTSA, along with the assistance of Ballow, not only forced General Motors to send out Consumer Advisories to between 400,000 and 500,000 owners of these vehicles, but also caused General Motors to stop selling this fan in the aftermarket.
