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Ford, Bridgestone/Firestone Settle Explorer Rollover Lawsuit

Aired January 8, 2001 - 2:02 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: Donna Bailey's life changed forever that day last March when a tire shredded and the Explorer in which she was riding flipped. Today, just a day before Ms. Bailey, now a quadriplegic, was to head to court in Texas, Ford and Firestone settled the case. Her lawsuit would have been the first to make it to a jury since the tire failures became public last summer.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has been covering the Ford/Firestone story since it broke. She joins us today from Miami.

Susan, tell us about it.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Lou. Yes, Lou, in the last month, Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone have been very busy settling at least a dozen lawsuits out of court.

Now, a day before a jury was to be seated in Donna Bailey's case in Corpus Christi, Donna Bailey has agreed herself to settle out of court. A key part of that settlement was this bedside visit. Ford officials on Sunday flew to Houston to see Bailey at a rehab center. The 44-year-old single mother of two teenagers is paralyzed from the neck down after surviving a Ford Explorer rollover last March. Police say the tread on the right rear tire separated -- that was a Wilderness AT tire. Bailey's lawyers say Ford apologized for any role the company may have played in the accident.

Now, CNN talked with Bailey before the claim was settled. She said she intended to testify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA BAILEY: Well, hopefully more awareness of consumer safety, that business needs to put their customers first before their money. They need to make sure that the products are well-tested; and when they do find a problem with the product, not to try to cover up the problem, but try to, you know, really fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Firestone's CEO John Lampe also sent a personal letter to Donna Bailey. We have a copy of it and we can show it to you in part. It reads: "There is nothing that any of us at Firestone can say or do," Lampe writes, "to return to you what you and your family have lost. All we can do is try to help you take care of your needs and those of your family."

Now, the terms of the settlement are confidential, as all the settlements have been, although Bailey's lawyers have said in court proceedings that the cost of her past and future medical care is expected to run at least $30 million.

Now, another element of this settlement is this: that Ford and Firestone must inspect within the next 90 days various tires that have been collected, as well as crushed vehicles, these Ford Explorers that these lawyers have held on to -- lawyers including Tab Turner -- for those -- for the company to come out and inspect those and then write up a report to be submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as congressional investigators.

Now, one important thing to note about the tire involved in this accident, while it was a Wilderness AT tire, it was not part of the recall because it was made at the Wilson, North Carolina plant, not the Decatur, Illinois plan. And many consumer advocates have been calling for an expansion of the recall to include those tires as well. However, the federal government has not yet ordered an expansion of the recall.

Back to you, Lou.

WATERS: Susan, as we've noted here, 148 deaths have been linked to the tires. And as you know, early on there was some suggestion that perhaps it might be difficult for Bridgestone/Firestone to survive as a company past these lawsuits. There are more to come, I assume. And will the company be able to survive?

CANDIOTTI: Well, Bridgestone/Firestone insists that it will be able to continue, now entering its second 100 years, although certainly this is a financial drain on the company. And not only these lawsuits that you've heard about, individual personal injury claims, but we must also remember those 150 or so lawsuits that have been combined in one umbrella in a multidistrict litigation that's being handled out of Indianapolis, Indiana as well.

WATERS: All right, Susan Candiotti following that story from Miami today.

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