The University of Texas at Austin
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October 15, 2002

Press Contact: Laura Castro, UT Law Communications, 512-232-1229


Event: Jury Trial begins Oct. 16 at UT Law, Live Webcast Available

Ford Motor Co. is a defendant in product liability action brought by guardian of crash victim

Event update

WHERE: Eidman Courtroom, Connally Center
Live Webcast available at: http://realaudio.cc.utexas.edu:8080/ramgen/encoder/fordtrial.rm
WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Oct. 16 - Nov. 1
WHO: Courtroom proceedings are open to the public

AUSTIN, Texas – An automotive product liability and crashworthiness claim is the focus of a jury trial scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 8:30 a.m. in UT Law's Eidman Courtroom. Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman, a 1977 UT Law graduate, will preside over the trial that is ancillary to an ongoing guardianship case for Caitlin Poirier under the jurisdiction of the probate court.

Poirier, an 8-year-old quadriplegic, and her mother are suing Ford Motor Co., the manufacturer of the Ford Windstar van that the Poirier family was riding in when it was hit by a pick-up truck in Pflugerville, Texas, in 1999. A replica of the Ford Windstar at issue has been reassembled in the courtroom for demonstration purposes.

The trial can be viewed by closed circuit television in CCJ 3.302 (third floor of the Law School's Connally Center), or online via a live Webcast at http://realaudio.cc.utexas.edu:8080/ramgen/encoder/fordtrial.rm. The public - including Law School students, staff and faculty - is invited to attend the trial in person after jury selection has been completed. The trial is also being videotaped.

The following is a synopsis of the case agreed to by attorneys in the case:

On Nov. 17, 1999, a 1997 Ford F-150 driven by James Wheland ran a stop sign and struck from the side a 1996 Ford Windstar carrying the Poirier family. This trial's primary focus is a product liability/crashworthiness claim attacking the integrity of the side structure and occupant restraint system of a 1996 Ford Windstar Van in a side-impact collision. The plaintiff was five years old at the time of the injury. Now an eight-year-old, ventilator-dependant quadriplegic, the court-appointed guardian of her estate seeks damages in an action that is ancillary to the guardianship before the Honorable Guy Herman in the Travis County Probate Court. There are two other parties represented by separate counsel in the litigation and more than a dozen testifying experts on accident reconstruction, automotive design and engineering, biokinetics, medicine and life-care planning. Experienced and specialized trial counsel from the Midwest and East coast will be assisted by experienced counsel from well-known local firms.

Teams of attorneys have been working on this case. They are:

  • National counsel representing Plaintiffs, Caitlin Poirier and her mother: Dan Rottier and Don Slavik of Habush, Habush & Rottier, S.C., based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Local counsel representing Plaintiffs: Frank T. Ivy, of Ivy, Crews & Elliott, P.C. in Austin, Texas*
  • Counsel representing Plaintiff's father, Virgil Poirier, Jr.: Brent Carpenter of Carpenter & Carpenter, P.C., in Sugarland, Texas
  • National Counsel representing Defendant, Ford: Tom Hinchey and Bill Conroy of Campbell, Campbell, Edwards & Conroy of Wayne, Pennsylvania
  • Local counsel representing Defendant, Ford: Ronald D. Wamsted of Brown, McCarroll, L.L.P. in Austin, Texas*
  • Local counsel representing Defendant, James Wheland: Tom Tourtellotte of Tom Tourtellotte, L.P., in Austin, Texas

*Both Ivy and Wamsted are graduates of the Law School. Ivy is a 1970 graduate and Wamsted is a 1980 graduate of UT Law.