BRAMA, Feb. 7, 2000, 10:00pm EST

Given the below and the fact that today’s owner of the VOLVO Company is FORD, I am seeking for lawyers’ offices which could defend my interests in the court proceedings against VOLVO. Finding myself in this conflict situation I am nevertheless deeply satisfied with the attitude of American Company FORD based on the American principles of democracy and standing for human rights.

From the press-conference «Citizen of Ukraine
Sergiy Kovalenko Versus VOLVO», 19 January,
12:00, held at the news agency «UNIAN» conferenbce-hall
(4 Khreshchatyk, Kyiv, Ukraine).

«Sergiy Kovalenko from Crimea is bringing an action against Company «VOLVO», a member of international motocar conglomeration «FORD».

Sergiy Kovalenko became disabled after an accident he got involved in when driving a Volvo C70 Coupe. The make had been widely advertised as one of the safest manufactured over the last few years. The car was equipped with an air bag system. Anyway, during the accident none of the airbags worked. The car is a write-off.

Profile.

Sergiy Kovalenko

Sergiy Kovalenko, 34, was born in Simferopol, Ukraine. At 15 finished musical school majoring in accordion, at 17 finished a full course at a secondary school with advanced learning of English. At 18 got a Master of Sports grade in weight-lifting (under-82.5kg category). Was a member of the U.S.S.R.’s national weight-lifting team, the captain of the junior national team and a prize-winner at European, All-Union and Ukrainian Championships. Worked as a weight-lifting coach-instructor at the regional council of Sports Society «Dynamo». Served in border-guard troops of the Western Border Military District and has some Government awards. In 1988 took an external degree in economics at the Crimean Agricultural Institute (College) and worked as a senior researcher at the said Institute. Candidate of Science (Economics). Further on worked as the Deputy Chief of the Tax Inspection of Kyivski district of Simferopol (Crimea), an employee at the Foreign Economic Section of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the Head of the Trade Administration of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

From the mid 1995 to the day of the accident ran a private business.

Why S. Kovalenko having legal proceedings with the Volvo

June 1998 - January 1999. After the accident Sergiy's Volvo C70 is a write-off.

In the March of 1998 Sergiy Kovalenko was the first in Ukraine to buy a Volvo C70. On 20 June 1998 he got into an accident. After a head-on collision with a tree the car rolled over and none of the four air bags available in the safety system worked. The driver was rushed to the neuro-surgical unit of a Simferopol hospital where he stayed for four months under the supervision of the Chief Neuro-Surgeon of Crimea. As a result of the accident Sergiy Kovalenko developed a closed skull injury (brain contusion) complicated by post-traumatic arachoiditis and traumatic brain disorder. He also got a thoracic contusion, fractures of cartilaginous terminations of ribs and a thoracic displacement. He is still receiving treatment in a rehabilitation centre.

March 1998. Sergiy Kovalenko posing in front of the new Volvo C70 Coupe. The car was ordered in Sweden on Sergiy's application and sold to him by VIKING-MOTORS, the Volvo dealer.

On 22 September 1999 Sergiy Kovalenko was granted a disability pension in connection with permanent poor health condition (Disability Certificate No 133388). It is easy to imagine that if the airbags had worked he would have never received these injuries. The sad consequences of this are the loss of health, business, family and putting paid to sports.

Sergiy Kovalenko is bringing an action against VOLVO. But from the very first steps it is obvious that both the management of VIKING MOTORS, a Ukrainian branch, and the Swedish parent company, as well as VOLVO CAR INTERNATIONAL AB not only have turned a deaf ear to what happened but are sticking to the policy of ignoring the customer’s interests.

Sergiy Kovalenko and his lawyers studied the experience of dealing with similar situations in Ukraine by MERCEDES, BMW, AUDI, VOLKSWAGEN and other car-manufacturers and, to the best extent possible, the experience of resolving such problems across Europe. According to Sergiy Kovalenko and his lawyers, at Swedish Concern VOLVO they have an opinion that human rights in Ukraine and in Sweden are not of the same value.

Given this, Sergiy Kovalenko will do his best to draw the attention of the world media to VOLVO’s attitude to observing human rights and consumers’ rights no matter what country the consumer comes from.»

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