For Renisha Jimmy it is “simply gobsmacking” that Ford would put the Kugas back on the road when the cars pose a risk as great as death.
The sibilings of Reshall Jimmy, who died when his Ford Kuga burst into flames, are planning a class action lawsuit against the motor company.
Kaveen and Renisha Jimmy, speaking at the National Press Club in Pretoria on Tuesday, said Ford’s decision, taken only this week, to intitiate a safety recall isn’t good enough.
Reshall died more than a year ago but Kaveen said he has been forced to recollect every moment of Reshall’s death in the family’s pursuit of an explanation for it. He burned to death when his car burst into flames December 4 2015 while he was visiting George in the Western Cape. Since then, his siblings have fought for Ford to admit that their cars are at fault.
“I can account for every minute on the 4 December that we’ve lost him and everything we’ve done for the last year. And that’s what Ford’ forced us to do. They’ve forced us to re-live this loss everyday and it gets heavier and heavier for us to deal with,” said Kaveen.
The pursuit of greater justice
On Monday the motor manufacturer announced a safety recall of Ford Kuga models with 1.6 litre engines and produced from 2012 to 2014 – Reshall’s Kuga was a 2014 model. Ford SA’s chief executive Jeff Nemeth said the recall would include safety checks on affected vehicles, which would be returned to the road once the checks are concluded.
For Renisha it is “simply godsmacking” that Ford would put the Kugas back on the road when the cars pose a risk as great as death.
The family’s lawyer, Rod Montano, will represent the Jimmys and other families in a class action lawsuit against Ford. For Kaveen, the case presents an opportunity for his family to finally get closure — and for Ford to “take every life seriously”.
“They [Ford] seem to think we’re looking for many different things, and they don’t understand the simplest thing we want is closure,” Kaveen said.
The company not only took more than a year to apologise to the family for Reshall’s death, but they have yet to admit that a fault in their vehicle caused it to combust.
Kaveen said Ford can begin to make amends to the family by taking his brother’s death seriously, instead of protecting their brand by avoiding accountability. “[The first step is] for them to stop making a mockery of my brother’s death.”
Protection of South African consumers
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) exists to not only protect consumers but also to hold those responsible for faulty products. The CPA allows for class action lawsuits and section 61 of the Act says that there is liability if any damage or harm is caused by a product that is unsafe when it is sold.
“This liability extends beyond replacement of the vehicle to any harm or damage caused and economic loss suffered by the owner‚ passengers‚ family or potentially even other members of the public or rescue services who are affected by it,” Janusz Luterek, a product liability specialist, told Business Day.
Despite the Act, Ford has delayed taking action on Kuga vehicles reported to be a danger on South African roads. In the United States, Ford Escape models, the equivalent of the Kuga in South Africa, were recalled as early as 2012.
“They [Ford] need to understand that South Africa is as important as the people that live in the US or the UK, where they do recalls shortly after one or two incidents,” Kaveen said.
Ford officials said on Monday that the recall was delayed because the South African climate hot and because cars here are right-hand drive while those in the US are left-hand drive.
The Jimmy family are among those who have found this explanation difficult to believe.
“Our main goal was to get the Kugas 1.6 in South Africa recalled so that the safety of South Africans can be protected. The next level of the battle is to get Ford to accept [and] to look at the evidence of what caused my brother’s very senseless death and for us to get closure,” Kaveen said.
The third step is the class action lawsuit against Ford.