Giordano v. Ford Motor Company

Banke, Judge.

Believing his stalled 1979 Jeep to have run out of gasoline, Giordano purchased approximately two gallons of gasoline from a service station, poured most of it into the vehicle’s tank, and used a small quantity to prime the carburetor. When the engine did not start, Giordano repeated the process, priming the carburetor with another small quantity of gasoline poured from a cup while a service station employee turned on the ignition. A ball of fire erupted from the carburetor, igniting Giordano’s shirt and resulting in severe burns to his upper torso.

The vehicle’s carburetor was…