John D. Melia, Special Administrator of the Estate of Pearl Lorraine Norgaard, Deceased v. Ford Motor Company, a Corporation

I respectfully dissent. An automobile manufacturer should not be held liable in a case such as this one where its design of a component meets the standards of the industry, and no unreasonable risk of harm should be apprehended to the user. I believe the Nebraska law is in accord with this view. Plaintiff has presented no evidence to show that the design of the Mustang door latch created an unreasonable risk of injury.

The majority opinion leaves an impression that this accident resulted from a slight impact. That is not the case. Plaintiff’s experts were clear that the fairly modest glancing…