On June 12, 2011, plaintiffs’ decedent Fiailoa Edwards, 38, a boilermaker, was driving his 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac pickup truck on Interstate 5, near Fresno, when he swerved off the side of the highway to avoid a collision. As a result, his vehicle rolled over more than three times and ended up on its side. Edwards, who was returning home from his job, was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, but was partially ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The decedent’s wife, Lupi Edwards, acting individually, as the decedent’s successor-in-interest and as her minor niece’s guardian ad litem, sued the manufacturer of the pickup truck, Ford Motor Co. The decedent’s wife alleged that Ford Motor defectively designed the vehicle, causing the decedent’s wrongful death. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the truck’s roof became deformed in the accident due to the defective design of the vehicle. Counsel also contended that Ford should have equipped the truck with Ford’s industry first Safety Canopy rollover-activated side curtain airbag system. The plaintiffs’ roof design expert opined that a stronger roof and/or a Safety Canopy would have prevented the decedent’s partial ejection and death. The plaintiffs’ biomechanics of injury expert opined that the decedent died from asphyxia when the truck came to rest on his chest and neck, and not from head as a result of the decedent’s partial ejection. Defense counsel denied the 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac’s roof was defective. Counsel contended that although Ford was the first in the automotive industry to develop a vehicle with rollover-activated side curtain airbags, the testing for the Safety Canopy had not yet been completed by the time the decedent’s Ford Sport Trac was built. The defense’s roof design expert opined that the subject roof far exceeded the applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for roof strength. He opined that the roof was simply overwhelmed by the severity of the accident. The defense’s seat belt expert confirmed that the decedent was belted and that the Sport Trac’s seat belt system operated properly and as intended in the crash. He also opined that, even when properly belted, the decedent’s head could extend beyond the plane of the open driver’s side window as the vehicle rolled over. Thus, the defense’s biomechanical expert opined that the decedent’s fatal injury was due to his head extending beyond the plane of the open driver’s side window during the crash as a result of the extreme forces experienced in the accident, and not due to any roof crush that had occurred. He also opined that the damage to the roof did not contribute to the partial ejection and that the plaintiff’s head could still have gone out of the window and hit the ground regardless of the strength of the roof or the absence of any roof crush. He further testified that the subject crash was in the uppermost severity of all rollover accidents., Fiailoa Edwards sustained blunt force trauma to his head, neck and chest. He ultimately died at the scene on June 12, 2011. He was 38 years old. He is survived by his wife and minor niece. The plaintiffs’ biomechanics of injury expert opined that the decedent died from asphyxia when the truck came to rest on his chest and neck, and not from the head he sustained as a result of being partially ejected. The decedent’s wife and niece sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of the decedent’s society and services. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel suggested that the jury award $7.85 million in total damages. Liberty Insurance Corp., which provided workers’ compensation for the decedent’s employer, filed a notice of lien after the lawsuit was filed. Thus, it acted as a lien claimant, but had no role in the litigation or trial. Defense counsel argued that the plaintiffs’ alleged economic damages were excessive and did not reflect the decedent’s historical past earnings.