Tires Failures & Motor Vehicle Accidents
Defects in tire design and manufacturing errors can result in tire blowouts and tread separations. A tire blowout or tire tread separation can ultimately lead to serious motor vehicle accidents, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, and bicycle accidents.
Tire Recalls
In the 1990's and early 2000's, safety advocates and experts brought to the federal government and public's attention the dangerous combination Firestone Wilderness AT, ATX, and ATX II tires and Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The propensity of these Firestone tires to fail at highway speeds led to an alarming number of rollovers and other motor vehicle accidents involving catastrophic injuries and death. Bridgestone/Firestone eventually recalled millions of these tires. Congress responded by passing the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act, which intends to increase consumer safety by requiring tire manufacturers and auto manufacturers, among other things, to report possible tire safety defects to the National Highway & Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). In the years since millions of defective tires have been recalled by tire manufactures including, Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and Michelin, to name just a few.
Tire Aging
Tires are made of rubber and as with any rubber product they begin to degrade over time. The tread wears out, the rubber begins to crack (both internally and externally), and the tires generally become weaker, which makes them more prone to catastrophic failure. Some tire manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers have started to advise their customers that tires should be taken out of service after 5 or 6 years, which is good, but long overdue advice. Still, tire manufacturers and auto manufacturers have done a generally poor job at communicating advice regarding tire aging to consumers. Specific and detailed warnings should be provided with expiration dates on tire sidewalls so that every owner of a tire knows when the tire should be replaced, regardless of tread depth.
Design & Manufacturing Flaws
In addition to aging, tires can also fail due to design flaws or manufacturing flaws, such as the failure to include a cap ply on steel-belted radial tires and poor belt adhesion.
Tire Blowout Lawsuits & Compensation
The product liability trial lawyers at Pfaff & Gill, Ltd. work with a team of experts, including tire experts, engineers, and accident reconstructionists to thoroughly investigate motor vehicle accidents that involve tire failure. We are committed to prosecuting all those meritorous cases against negligent tire manufacturers, auto manufacturers, and/or tire retailers where we find that serious injuries are due to defective tires. If you, a loved one, or client have been injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident that involved a tire blowout or tire failure, contact us today for a free case evaluation to determine if we can help you.
