Korea’s Stephen Hawking wins W3.8b in suit

Lee Sang-mook, a professor at Seoul National University, has won 3.8 billion won ($3.47 million) in compensation from Ford for the 2006 car accident that left him paralyzed.

Lee and a group of students were on a geological research trip to Death Valley, California, when his Ford overturned and the roof collapsed. The accident killed one of his students and left Lee paralyzed. 

Lee sued Ford in April 2010 for the collapse of the car roof which caused serious injuries to Lee and his students. Lee had asked for $4.69 million in compensation for medical expenses and psychological damage, claiming that Ford was responsible. Ford claimed Lee already had spinal cord injuries before the roof collapsed.

Los Angeles County Court ruled last December that Ford and Quigley Motors, which modified the E350 van for field excavation work, were partially responsible for the accident. The court ordered Ford to pay $2.78 million and Quigley Motors to pay $775,000 in compensation.

Lee’s partial victory in 2010 led to his full victory this year as the court ruled in favor of Lee, ordering Ford to pay $3.47 million in compensation.

Lee became famous as the “Stephen Hawking of Korea” after the accident. He also gained public recognition for speaking out on behalf of disabled people.

Lee wrote a book titled “0.1 gram of Hope” after the accident and donated the profits to a scholarship in the name of his student who died in the accident.

By Yun Suh-young (syun@heraldcorp.com)