Ford Carbon Monoxide Lawsuit: Ford Wins in Bellamy v. Ford

April 18, 2025 — A Ford Explorer Police Interceptor lawsuit and trial is over after a federal jury in Texas returned a verdict in favor of Ford.

The lawsuit was filed by Texas police officer Jeremy Bellamy, at the time age 46, who was on duty in March 2021 for the Universal City Police Department.

Bellamy was parked with the 2019 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor idling when he allegedly passed out due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to his lawsuit, a passerby allegedly saw Bellamy slumped over and she knocked on the window to check on him. The lawsuit goes on to claim the passerby called 911 because she thought Bellamy was unconscious.

Bellamy says the Explorer was defective and the carbon monoxide that entered the vehicle left him with permanent injuries.

Ford has faced numerous lawsuits, including class actions, regarding Explorers that allegedly poisoned occupants with carbon monoxide. Both civilian and police vehicles are allegedly affected by the problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spent six years investigating the complaints and found nothing defective about the vehicles and determined the Explorers did not cause elevated carbon monoxide levels in the cabins.

Ford also determined Explorer police vehicles could possibly have issues with exhaust fumes, but the problems were caused by work done on the vehicles to add sirens, lights, wiring and other functions required for police departments.

The judge in the Bellamy case allowed the lawsuit to proceed to trial, and it took just three hours for the jury to hand Ford the win.

Ford's argument was simple. The 2019 Explorer Police Interceptor was safe when it left Ford's factory and Bellamy did fall asleep while sitting in the SUV, but not due to dangerous carbon monoxide levels.

Ford told the jury Bellamy fell asleep while parked because he had numerous health problems, including high blood pressure, sleep apnea and hypersomnia. Additionally, Ford says Bellamy was taking opioid pain killers which affected his condition.

And regarding the passerby who allegedly found Bellamy unconscious in the Explorer, the police incident report from that day says Bellamy rolled down the window and told the passerby he was fine after she knocked on the window to check on him.

And in court, the passerby admitted she didn't remember details of the event and that it was possible the official police report was accurate.

Bellamy wanted up to $136 million for his health problems allegedly caused by the Ford Explorer Police Interceptor.

The Ford Explorer Police Interceptor carbon monoxide lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (San Antonio Division): Jeremy Bellamy v. Ford Motor Company.

Ford Carbon Monoxide Lawsuit: Ford Wins in Bellamy v. Ford

Texas jury returns verdict in favor of Ford regarding Explorer Police Interceptor SUV.

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