(CN) - A 300-pound woman who was paralyzed in a car accident did not prove her claim that Ford Motor Co. failed to warn her that its Explorer wasn't designed to withstand the impact for a driver of her size, a Missouri appeals court ruled.
Moore was driving a Ford Explorer when another car hit her from behind and drove her into a building. She broke her back when the driver's seat collapsed and her head and shoulders hit the back seat.
Moore and her husband sued Ford, claiming the company should have warned them that the Explorer couldn't absorb the impact for heavy drivers. The trial court ruled for Ford, and Judge Nannette Baker of the Eastern District Missouri Court of Appeals agreed.
"A failure-to-warn claim must be supported by evidence that the plaintiff would have pursued an alternative course of action in heeding the warning. ... In fact, Jeanne testified that she never checked the owner's manual for weight limits on seats before purchasing the car," Baker wrote.
"Jeanne also testified that she did not ask anyone at the Ford dealership about weight limits on seats," the judge added.
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