Defective Tires Lawsuit in California
The cause of an accident may be unfortunate but quite simple, like the other driver's carelessness or bad weather.
However, in some instances, the cause of an auto accident may not be as simple. What if the accident in which you or your loved one was involved was caused by a tire blowout? Then, the case involves something legally called a product liability lawsuit.
The consequences of these blowouts can be life-threatening to you and your family, especially if a vehicle is traveling at a high speed or if a vehicle is top-heavy.
A tire blowout can cause the driver to lose control of the car, resulting in rollover accidents, collisions, or worse. Various defects may cause tire blowouts. There may be manufacturing defects in how the tire was essentially put together.
The tire may have design defects. Sometimes, determining fault in an injury accident is not as cut-and-dried as determining another driver's negligence, especially in solo accidents.
Defective tires are a hidden and often underestimated factor in these accidents. The NHTSA says faulty tires contribute to approximately 11,000 accidents annually across the country.
If you or a loved one have been involved in such an accident, the physical pain, emotional trauma, and financial burdens can feel overwhelming. These incidents, often entirely preventable, are a stark reminder of just how devastating negligence in manufacturing or maintenance can be.
Defective tires can lead to sudden, unpredictable failure—causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles in an instant. The results are often tragic. Knowing you've been affected by something outside your control can deepen the frustration and helplessness of the experience.
At the Injury Justice Law Firm, we are committed to working with individuals who've endured these hardships and are dedicated to getting them the compensation and justice they deserve.
What Are Common Types of Tire Defects?
Tire defects arise during manufacturing or can be the result of poor design. They severely compromise the safety and reliability of vehicles, often without warning. Here are the most frequent types of tire defects responsible for accidents:
- Tread separation. Due to the difficulty in obtaining adhesion of steel to rubber there is a potential for tread separation of all steel-belted radial tires. This is true, especially at high speeds in hot weather. This occurs when the tire's outer layer detaches from the inner casing. This defect can cause sudden blowouts, significantly increasing the risk of a crash at high speeds. Another issue involves the adhesive bond failing during manufacturing, which may worsen under heat or heavy use. Recent examples include the Firestone ATX and Wilderness tires on Ford Explorers, Continental General tires on Lincoln Navigators, Firestone Steeltex tires on Ford Excursions, and Goodyear Load Range E tires on 15-passenger vans.
- Blowouts. Tire blowouts happen when a tire suddenly fails altogether, often due to underinflation, structural weaknesses, or manufacturing errors. These can be especially dangerous on highways, leading to rapid loss of control.
- Sidewall Failures. A tire's sidewall provides its structure and strength. Defects here can make the tire prone to leaks, bulges, or complete structural failure under regular driving conditions.
- Bead Defects: The bead is the part of the tire that seals it to the wheel's rim. Defective beads can result in improper sealing, causing air leaks or complete detachment of the tire from the rim.
- Aging Materials: Poorly manufactured tires may degrade faster than expected over time. Weak or insufficient materials can lead to cracking, bulging, or other vulnerabilities. This is particularly dangerous in tires marketed as durable or long-lasting, which are assumed to withstand significant wear and tear. For many years, the life of a tire has been defined by its use and condition, such as tread depth and sidewall condition. It is now clear that deterioration within the tire can occur over time, which increases the likelihood of catastrophic failure. Heat and oxygen are both enemies to tires. They work to degrade the internal adhesion of tire components. Environmental conditions such as exposure to sunlight or salt air also may adversely affect tires as they age. Tread separation, once again, is a typical failure mode of an aged tire.
- Adhesion failures. Several factors can cause the adhesion between the belt and rubber to fail. Weak or improper compounds, contamination during manufacturing, and other problems can cause the initiation of cracks between the belts and treads. Most often, these will begin to form at the belt edge. Progressive fatiguing, crack growth, and tearing failure can progress into the skim stock. These cracks propagate during the use of the tire. Heat or friction within the tire may hasten this process. Ultimately, this can result in separation and the potential for catastrophic failure of the tire.
Defective tires can occur due to negligence in production, insufficient quality control, or even inadequate labeling regarding proper use and care. Drivers often do not know their tires are compromised until it's too late.
What are Common Injuries Due to Tire Defects?
Unfortunately, defective tire accidents frequently result in severe injuries because they tend to happen at high speeds and without warning. Some of the most common injuries include:
- Head and Brain Injuries: A sudden blowout or tread separation can cause rollover accidents or high-speed collisions, leading to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). These injuries may produce symptoms that last weeks, months, or a lifetime.
- Spinal Cord and Back Injuries: Being jolted by a sudden accident can inflict serious harm on the spine, potentially resulting in nerve damage, chronic pain, or even paralysis.
- Broken Bones: The impact of defective tire-related crashes can lead to fractures in the arms, legs, ribs, or other areas, which may take months to heal and limit daily mobility.
- Whiplash and Neck Injuries: Sudden collisions caused by tire failures often throw drivers or passengers forward abruptly. This motion can strain neck muscles, ligaments, and vertebrae, causing pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.
Retaining a Field Expert in Tire Defect Cases
Litigation against tire manufacturers is complex. Many auto accidents and rollovers caused by tire blowouts may be due to a design defect or a manufacturing defect in the tire. In such cases, it's crucial to retain a field expert in tire defect cases.
These experts, such as accident reconstruction specialists or biomechanical analysts, can provide the necessary evidence and testimony to support your case.
It often takes time and the assistance of experts to determine whether a tire defect contributed to the accident. However, it is crucial to retain any applicable experts in the beginning so the vehicle involved can be examined immediately.
This is why the most important evidence in an auto or tire defect case is the vehicle that was in the accident. Without it, an automotive defect case is difficult, if not impossible, to establish.
It is important to have an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney on your side because, quite often, in a product liability case, big businesses engage in “finger-pointing” practices, where one blames the other for a design and/or manufacturing flaw in a product.
For instance, in 2001 Ford ended its long-standing relationship with Firestone by publicly blaming Firestone for manufacturing defective tires. Ford stated it had lost faith in the safety of Firestone's Wilderness AT brand tires, which are designed specifically for Ford vehicles.
On the other hand, Firestone responded by claiming Ford was trying to divert attention away from the flaws in the Ford Explorer and that Firestone would no longer sell tries to Ford due to a loss of “mutual trust and respect.” To this day, these two companies continue to fight each other in court due to a slew of individual and class action product liability lawsuits against them.
How We Prove Liability in Tire Defect Accidents
Proving that a defective tire caused or contributed to an accident can be complex, especially with manufacturers denying culpability, using stall tactics, etc. Our attorneys have extensive experience with these cases and can work to hold the manufacturers accountable for their faulty products. The steps we take include:
- Identifying the Defect: Our team works with engineers, mechanics, and other specialized experts to determine the exact cause of failure, whether it's a design flaw, manufacturing issue, or improper labeling.
- Preserving Evidence: Physical evidence, such as the defective tire itself or skid marks at the crash scene, is essential to building a case. We help clients preserve these items and document their condition, ensuring this evidence remains intact for evaluation.
- Investigating Manufacturer Practices: Many tire defects are traced back to negligence during production or insufficient quality testing. Reviewing the manufacturer's processes, production records, or history of recalls can uncover patterns of oversight.
- Expert Analysis of Crash Circumstances: As noted, accident reconstruction specialists are often employed to analyze the events leading up to the crash. Their work helps demonstrate how the defective tire directly contributed to the collision.
- Utilizing Recall Records: If a specific tire model has been recalled or cited for safety concerns in the past, this strengthens the case against the manufacturer or distributor. A history of negligence increases their accountability.
Punitive Damages
Compensatory damages may include property damage, the cost of past and future medical treatment, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, etc. However, you or you're loved one may also be entitled to punitive damages if involved in an auto accident as a result of a tire blow out.
The purpose of punitive damages is a public one, which is to punish wrongdoing and deter future misconduct by either the defendant or other potential wrongdoers. (Stevens v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp. – 1996; Adams v. Murakami – 1991).
To sustain an award for punitive damages, proof of malice does not require an actual intent to harm. Conscious disregard for the safety of another may be sufficient where the defendant is aware of the probable dangerous consequences of their conduct and they willfully fail to avoid those consequences. (Taylor v. Superior Court – 1978).
Thus, there is a much higher chance for an injured party to win a punitive damage award with an experienced attorney by their side who has at their disposal several experts who will prove in court that the responsible party for the defective tire acted in conscious disregard for the safety of others despite knowing of the probability of dangerous consequences but willfully failed to avoid them.
One way to show the court in product liability cases, specifically defective tire cases, is that appropriate adhesion, proper manufacturing practices, and adequate quality control measures can substantially reduce manufacturing defects. Some plant practices that contribute to tread belt separation include:
- Improper curing,
- The use of over-aged “dry” rubber stock,
- The use of petroleum solvent on tire components before vulcanization,
- Moisture or foreign matter cured into the tire,
- Improper repairs,
- Inadequate final inspection, and
- An emphasis on production or quantity over quality and safety.
Many plants run on twelve-hour shifts, with the tire builders working on a quota incentive system that unduly stresses workers. Therefore, in such a case, it would be much more possible to obtain a punitive damage award than in a pure negligence auto accident case.
What Damages Are Available?
In a defective tire case, you can seek damages for the losses related to the accident. Compensatory damages in a personal injury lawsuit are intended to put you in a similar position you would have been in but for the accident. These include the following:
- Medical and hospital bills,
- Car repairs,
- Lost wages,
- Lost earning potential,
- Pain and suffering,
- Loss of consortium.
If you or a family member were involved in an auto accident involving a tire blowout, it is important to talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer right away. Our injury attorneys are knowledgeable in the product liability area of tort law. It is imperative to evaluate the cause of the car accident, even if it may not be readily apparent at first.
Also, an expert in the area can be consulted immediately, who will help pinpoint the cause of a tire blowout. We offer a free case evaluation, and you pay no fee unless we win your case. Our law frim is based in Los Angeles, California.
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