‘It should have had a completely independent, backup mechanism to keep the lethal sickle mower in an upright position as it was carried over the open roads or transported across a field.
‘Nothing in the mower handbook that we have located warned the buyer that this blade could drop from its upright position at an unexpected time.’ Godfried was struck with such force while out riding with his son that the blade severed his leg. His life was saved by Arica Gagnon, a nurse who was en route to the beach with her children when she saw the accident, and stopped to use a towel as a tourniquet.
The professor’s injuries were too severe to recover from, and he ended up losing his left limb above the knee. Greif said the lawsuit had been delayed by the length of time it took for investigators to track down the rogue mower involved.‘The loss of his leg is a profound loss.‘By bringing this suit, we hope that we encourage Ford to reach out and make sure that others are not similarly injured.’The Bangor Daily News reports that the suit is likely to be settled confidentially for an amount less than that being sought by Godfried.