On the evening of December 30, 2009, Qusai Issa was driving his 2003 Ford Expedition in Berwyn, Illinois. The inside of his vehicle suddenly became engulfed in flames. A local newspaper reported that a man driving behind the Ford Expedition saw the fire erupt and saved Qusai from certain death. Qusai was transported to Loyola University Medical Center with third degree burns over 50% of his body. Qusai remains in the Intensive Care Unit of Loyola to this day.
Unbeknownst to Qusai, Ford Motor Company had been aware of a dangerous defect in its vehicles for many years. It had received hundreds of complaints for “cruise control switch” fires in the years preceding Qusai’s injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation and Ford has responded by recalling hundreds of thousands of its vehicles.
On February 16, 2010, Tim Cavanagh of Cavanagh Sorich Law Group filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The case is Qusai Issa v. Ford Motor Company, et al., Case No. 2010 L 2042. On February 17, 2010, Mr. Cavanagh will present an Emergency Motion for a Protective Order before Judge Savage at 9:15 a.m. in Room 2201 of the Richard J. Daley Center to ensure that the vehicle is preserved and available for safety experts to view and determine the cause of the fire.