— A Ford truck roof lawsuit alleges more than 5 million Super Duty trucks were sold with defective roofs that crush and kill occupants in rollover crashes.
According to the Ford roof class action lawsuit, the weak roofs are found on 1999-2016 Ford F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty trucks.
The Ford roof lawsuit follows a $1.7 billion verdict against the automaker in the deaths of two occupants in a 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty.
Ford says it plans on appealing the $1.7 billion verdict, but the case has caused attorneys to file class action lawsuits alleging Ford designed unsafe weak truck roofs to maximize profits.
The latest class action alleges Ford continues to deny the roofs are defective and hasn't offered to repair the 5.2 million Super Duty trucks.
The Ford truck roof lawsuit was filed by Illinois plaintiff Ryan Scott who purchased a 2011 Ford F-350. The plaintiff does not claim his truck roof collapsed or suffered any problems, but he alleges Ford should have told him the roof is allegedly dangerous.
The plaintiff also asserts the roof "has significantly diminished the value" of his 2011 Ford truck.
Ford Truck Roof Lawsuit (Federal Standards)
A federal safety standard went into effect in 1973 regarding the loads required to crush a roof in a passenger vehicle. As with all federal auto safety regulations, the safety law was created to reduce injuries and fatalities in rollover crashes.
However, heavy trucks such as the Ford trucks were not required to meet the federal standard.
The Ford truck roof class action lawsuit includes model year 1999-2016 trucks, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration didn't require automakers to begin designing stronger roofs until 2012. However, those automakers had until 2017 to meet the new standards.
And although the Ford truck roof class actions weren't filed until after the $1.7 billion verdict was announced, that verdict was reached regarding a crushed roof in a 2002 Ford Super Duty truck.
The federal government didn't test the 2002 Ford truck roofs because the roof safety standards didn't apply at that time.
Ford also notes there have been no federal actions or roof recalls related to the 1999-2016 Super Duty trucks.
The Ford truck roof lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois: Ryan Scott v. Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiff is represented by Fegan Scott LLC, and Shindler, Anderson, Goplerud & Weese PC.