4 June 2001: A $26 million verdict against Ford Motor Company in California has been upheld by a California State appeals court, though the plaintiff died last year after first being awarded the money.

Insurance executive Richard Raimondi rolled his Bronco II SUV while trying to avoind another accident and was left a quadriplegic, unable to breathe without a ventilator. Last March he and his family were ruled to have suffered more than $51 million damages, but only $26 million was awarded against Ford because Raimondi was partly responsible for the accident.

Judges have rejected a series of Ford challenges to the verdict. The company has made no decision on a possible further appeal.

It's the latest in a string of large liability awards against carmakers, which have included a $4.9 billion award against General Motors in 1999. In 1995 an Indiana jury ordered Ford to pay $4.4 million in compensatory damages and $58 million in punitive damages to two people injured in a Bronco II rollover accident. The trial judge cut that award to about $14 million.