Family sues Ford for man’s death after he was found slumped behind wheel, poisoned
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WTVY/Gray News) - A lawsuit filed in Arizona alleges that the Ford Motor Company’s failure to install basic safety measures in a hybrid car resulted in the death of an Alabama man in 2023.
The lawsuit document, filed in Maricopa County in early October, explains that 60-year-old Abimael Feliciano was driving on Montgomery Highway in Dothan on Aug. 8, 2023, when he stopped at one of the red lights and didn’t continue on.
First responders later found him slumped over the steering wheel and he was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences determined that Feliciano’s death was the result of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
Feliciano’s exposure to hydrogen sulfide was later linked to an improper vent tubing found during an inspection of his 2015 Ford C-Max Hybrid. The lawsuit, filed by Alabama law firms Beasley Allen and Jink Crows, P.C., claims it was discovered during the inspection that the vent tubing was not connected to the vehicle’s battery.
The first responders who found Feliciano reported “a rotten egg odor” in and around the vehicle that came from the rear of the vehicle, where the battery was located, court documents allege.
The lawsuit includes seven counts, alleging that Ford knowingly and negligently designed the 2015 Ford C-Max Hybrid poorly, including the lack of properly installed sensors or alarms to detect toxic fumes. That poor design and failure to warn, the lawsuit reads, put not only Feliciano at risk, ultimately resulting in his death, but also others who have bought and owned this type of vehicle.
“No one expects a family car to become a source of deadly gas. We hope this case sends a clear message: safety must always come first,” Christy Crow of Jinks Crow, P.C. said.
Alongside Ford, Arizona dealerships Bill Luke Tempe, Sanderson Ford and Camelback Ford Lincoln are each accused of negligence in “a duty to properly inspect, properly perform any maintenance, and properly perform repairs” to the vehicle, which the lawsuit claims also resulted in the death.
“This is about more than one family’s loss—it’s about the responsibility automakers and dealers have to every driver and passenger on the road,” D. Michael Andrews of Beasley Allen said. “We are determined to hold these companies accountable and to push for changes that will prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”
Feliciano’s family is requesting a trial by jury, and they are seeking an unspecified amount of damages for the loss of their loved one, with the attorneys also calling for “industry-wide attention to battery safety and consumer warnings.”
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