Reasons Why Tire Defect Accident Cases are Different from Other Vehicle Accidents

There could be more than a single defendant in a tire blowout/rollout accident: which probably comes as little surprise. Sometimes it is due to a manufacturing defect, which means the company that made your tire bears some liability. It is also possible that your tires’ inability to perform correctly was caused by any number or a combination of other reasons such as: More on this website
The tire may not have been properly installed or mounted when you purchased it.
Your car care center’s professional tire technicians may not have appropriately maintained the tires.
The tire on your vehicle may not have been properly matched to your vehicle’s needs, in which case your auto manufacturer, or the retailer who sold and installed your tires, might share some blame.
Other factors may have also contributed to the accident. All potentially liable defendants must be subjected to an extensive investigation, in addition to the physical evidence from the accident itself to fully understand why a tire’s failure caused your rollover accident. One other thing: what if you were hit by a vehicle with bad tires, and how do you identify them? Keep that thought in the back of your mind as you read on.

Any one of a host of different parties that have a part in the design, selection, installation, manufacture, and maintenance of a tire that caused your accident may be liable for your injuries and other damages. The Firestone Tire rollover accidents on Ford Explorers years ago is a perfect example of several seemingly unrelated factors combining to produce rollover tragedies, tens of millions of dollars in property damage, many injuries, and some deaths. Media attention first cast suspicion on Firestone itself as the cause. Then as investigations unfolded, the spotlight shifted to Ford. When the investigation was complete, no single reason for this higher-than-normal number of wrecks could be found.

The full investigation, which took almost a year, found a combination of liability factors involving the tires themselves, incorrect tire specifications by Ford, and even some incorrect aftermarket service (and in some cases, the wrong tire inflation specifications). All played prominent parts in this confluence that produced this multitude of rollover tragedies.

Intensive investigations can reveal many reasons that point to the vehicle’s manufacturer’s liability. Other evidence can be attributed to different liable defendants in the “tire aftermarket chain.” Some (but not all) of the entire list of possible manufacturer roles in defective tire-induced rollover accidents involve:

The vehicle’s suspension design, relative to roll resistance in both the static (empty) and loaded state, may have contributed to the defective tire accident.
The vehicle’s crashworthiness in a defective tire rollover accident. Some are better at protecting passengers better than others, over and above mandated vehicle safety standards.
Did the seat belts operate as designed to protect everyone in the vehicle? And if the auto had airbags, did they perform as designed?
How well does any additional safety equipment protect the vehicle’s passengers in a defective tire accident?
A host of other factors may come into play once a thorough investigation of your rollover accident is complete.

For decades our Law Firm has helped many victims and their families of defective tires, blowouts, or rollover accidents. If you or a loved one has suffered from such an accident, you should call us today at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) to arrange for a free consultation with our team of experienced accident injury lawyers. We are adept at representing victims of wrecks caused by defective tires and blowouts. We can answer any of your questions about the specific details of your case and help you on the road to recovery.