The estate of a San Antonio-area police officer who alleged he suffered brain injuries from carbon monoxide leaking into his Ford patrol vehicle has lost its bid to overturn a jury verdict in favor of the automaker.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a San Antonio federal judge’s refusal to grant the estate of Jeremy Bellamy a new trial, concluding that a Ford exhibit mistakenly provided to jurors during deliberations did not affect the verdict.
He died six days after the verdict at age 50 of hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. His widow, Jackie Bellamy, continued the litigation as executor of his estate.
Bellamy, who had worked as a Universal City police officer, was found unconscious in his idling Ford Police Interceptor while on duty on March 22, 2021. He was taken to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. Doctors found his blood carbon monoxide level was 7.8%, well above the normal range.
At trial, Ford disputed any defect in the vehicle. Its lawyers argued that Bellamy had fallen asleep because of various health problems, including sleep apnea, hypersomnia and hypertension, as well as opioid addiction.
The appeal centered on a Ford-prepared chart summarizing carbon monoxide testing on Bellamy’s patrol vehicle that was mistakenly provided to jurors as evidence during their deliberations. Both sides had failed to notice it was incorrectly designated on the final exhibit list.
But in Thursday’s decision, the three-judge panel said jurors already had seen the chart three times during the trial, when U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam allowed Ford to display it for illustrative purposes.
Bellamy’s estate argued the chart was highly prejudicial because it included testing by a Ford expert who didn’t testify at trial and presented the testing in a way that emphasized Ford’s results while minimizing the testing done on Bellamy’s behalf.
The appeals court wasn’t persuaded, saying the information on the chart had been discussed before jurors during the trial and that the estate couldn’t show the chart improperly influenced their verdict.
The court also said there was substantial other evidence supporting the verdict, including admissible evidence presented by Ford that no defect had been found in Bellamy’s vehicle. The judges concluded the disputed chart largely repeated other evidence presented at trial and that its presence in the jury room did not affect the verdict.
“We are disappointed with the decision, but respect the authority of the court,” Farrell said in a statement Friday. “We are considering our options with Officer Bellamy’s family.”
Farrell said Bellamy’s family continues to believe Ford will be held responsible, maintaining that a defect allowed the gas to enter the Explorer’s passenger cabin.
A Ford representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.