Ford-Firestone lawsuit

A Texas woman's landmark lawsuit against Firestone and Ford is set for trial Monday. It's the first of more than 200 lawsuits related to defective Firestone tires. <br><br>Friday, some Tulsa

Saturday, January 6th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A Texas woman's landmark lawsuit against Firestone and Ford is set for trial Monday. It's the first of more than 200 lawsuits related to defective Firestone tires.

Friday, some Tulsa attorneys held a news conference to urge Ford and Firestone to settle with their client now. The 21-year-old mother is a quadriplegic, and in desperate financial trouble.

KOTV's Donn Robertson has Christy McKinney's story. A federal panel of judges grouped McKinney's lawsuit against Ford and Firestone, with dozens of others from around the country. Her attorneys say she needs restitution now.

So, In two weeks, they'll be asking another panel to let McKinney break away from the group and move forward with a trial of her own. McKinney is from Fort Smith. Friday afternoon, she flew into Tulsa. Getting to fly in a Lear jet should be a special treat, but not for Kristi McKinney.

In August, the 21-year-old broke her neck after her Ford Explorer lost control on Interstate 40 near Fort Smith and flipped over; she had her seatbelt on. Her infant son had only cuts and bruises. McKinneyâ€™s attorneys, from Tulsa, are suing Ford and Firestone because her recalled tire ripped apart. Now, Kristi McKinney is a quadriplegic and will never pick up her son again. McKinney: "I don't like it all, just laying their not being able to itch my head, scratch my hand when it itches, or even my ear."

The air ambulance flew McKinney from the Rehab Institute of Chicago to Tulsa. From the jet, paramedics moved McKinney into an ambulance. It took her to a Tulsa nursing home, to be closer to her family and her attorneys in Tulsa. McKinney's attorney, Fred Stoops: "Currently they are living off of borrowed money that needs to be paid back."

McKinney's lifetime reserve of Medicare funding is running out. Her attorneys say she needs settlements with Firestone and Ford soon, so she can take care of her family. McKinney says Ford and Firestone should be paying, not the government. "I hate asking anybody for anything because I am an independent person. It really hurts me to be this way because of a tire." "Take the tires off your cars because they are dangerous. You'll end up like me if you don't take them off."

McKinney says her lawsuit is also important because she doesn't want anyone else to go through what she is going through. Her attorneys and a Firestone attorney say both sides are getting closer to a settlement. McKinney's attorneys say Ford hasn't returned their calls.

An attorney with Ford says Ford sends its sympathies to the McKinney family. The attorney says they have a goal to meet with all the attorneys representing more than 200 suits against Ford, because they do want to settle.