Last week, Ford Motor Co. settled on  the car accident wrongful death lawsuit filed against them by the family of a New York Mets minor league player killed while driving his Ford Explorer Sport.  Ford agreed to pay $131 million to Brian Cole’s family after 11 out of 12 jurors agreed that Ford was at fault for the tragic car accident.

In March 2001, Cole was driving his Ford Explorer on his way home from spring training when his vehicle veered and rolled off of a Florida highway.  Cole was ejected from the vehicle and suffered serious injuries.  He later passed away at Saint Luke’s Hospital from the injuries incurred in the accident.

Cole’s family argued that physical evidence showed that Cole was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident, but it was defective and caused him to be thrown from his car.  Furthermore, they stated that Ford’s vehicle was unstable and did not perform according to how it was marketed.