Navistar Ordered to Pay Crash Victim’s Family

Navistar International Corp., North America’s largest maker of heavy trucks, lost an appeal of a ruling that ordered the company to pay $5.1 million to the family of a Georgia woman who died in an accident involving a Navistar truck. A federal judge properly found that Navistar failed to include a cheap and readily available safety device that prevents brakes from locking on its line of tractor-trailer trucks, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said. The court upheld the judge’s conclusion that the omission led to the death of Grace Lindsey, 30, in 1989. The judge found that had Navistar included a manual brake-control valve inside the truck’s cab, the tendency to jackknife when the driver slammed on the brakes would have been reduced. A spokesman said Chicago-based Navistar was considering its options, including further appeal. Navistar shares rose $1.13 to close at $27.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.