As Mrs. Hatfield and her family drove down Interstate 16 in a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis, a tractor-trailer merged into their lane struck the car in the rear. The car was forced off the road, then it rolled over. Tragically, Ford Motor Company had manufactured the car with a defectively weak roof. When the roof hit the ground, the portion over Mrs. Hatfield caved in and struck her in the head, forcing her head forward and down. The collapsing roof broke her neck, leaving Mrs. Hatfield paralyzed from the neck down. On behalf of Mrs. Hatfield and her husband, we filed suit against the trucking company and Ford Motor Company. We took the case all the way through trial, completing a 2.5-week trial on October 2. When the jury announced that it had reached a verdict, but before the jury could announce what the verdict was, Ford made an offer to settle the case. The Hatfield family accepted. The amount of the settlement is confidential at Ford's request.