Oakland Man to Get $18.3 Million After Van Crash

A federal jury has determined that Ford Motor Co. should pay a 38-year-old Oakland man $18.3 million after he was paralyzed in a crash in a Ford van.

Jurors awarded Dax Pierson $12.3 million for medical expenses and lost earnings and $6 million for pain and suffering for the injuries he suffered when the Ford E-350 he was riding in rolled over on an icy freeway in 2005.

At the time of the crash, Pierson was the founder of musical group that was traveling through Iowa on a U.S. tour.

Pierson was belted into his seat, but still suffered multiple fractures of his spine.

In his suit, Pierson claimed that van was defectively designed. Though Ford claimed the driver was going to fast, jurors found that Ford’s design of the van had caused Pierson’s injuries.