Philadelphia Tire Failure Lawyers
There are millions of car accidents in the U.S. every year injuring 2.9 million people and killing over 40,000 people. While accidents may be caused by driver error, aggressive driving, alcohol intoxication, weather conditions, distractions, and collisions with animals, car accidents are frequently caused by manufacturing defects, product design defects, poor tire design, and tire failure. Tire defects are not uncommon, and millions of tires have been recalled in the past few years for posing serious health risks to motorists. Tread separation, tire blowout, rim or sidewall explosion, and bead failures often lead to loss of control over a vehicle, and vehicle rollovers, resulting in catastrophic injury and wrongful death. Many times, tire failures could have been prevented and were the result of a manufacturing defect, not the fault of the driver as many tire manufacturers would like you to believe.
Only a few years ago, Firestone found itself in hot water when millions of their tires were found to have defects causing tread separation, which led to a massive recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires. Frighteningly, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. estimates that 200,000 tires subject to the recall have not been recovered and may still be traveling on roads everyday. Other major tire manufacturers and distributors have also recalled thousands of tires, and have been held accountable when their mistakes and negligence caused catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths. Recently, the Michelin tire company was slammed with an $11.96 million verdict against them after finding a defective tire was the catalyst for a tragic car wreck that killed six people and left a 12 year old boy paralyzed.
Tread separation occurs when the steel belt in a radial tire fails to properly adhere to the rubber tread or other tire components. Poor adhesion may be caused by manufacturers using old and expired adhesives, unclean facilities, and improper or incorrect temperatures to cure the adhesive. Design flaws like using a deficient skim sock, or failing to use important nylon overlays, which help the steel belts adhere to the rubber treads, make tires more prone to tread separation and blowout. Tire manufacturers have long understood that the defective design and placement of the rubber tread and steel belts on tires are one of the main causes of tread separation, but have continued to use solvents, chemicals, and materials that can bring about port compounding and tread separation. To add insult to injury, we have discovered many instances where tires had not been inspected properly, and tire producers had skimped on quality control, with defective tires ending up on thousands of vehicles, sometimes resulting in bead failures, sidewall cracking, tread chunking, and rim explosion.
Beyond tire defects and improper tire manufacturing, other preventable factors may cause tire blowouts and serious car accidents. Many people take their cars to garages and mechanics to get their tires changed and examined, but improper installation, installing the wrong size tire for the vehicle, and filling tires to an incorrect pressure may cause serious and often fatal car crashes and rollovers.
Tires are critically important in handling and controlling vehicles as they affect steering, braking, traction, and control. When a tire fails, explodes, or quickly deflates, driver safety is immediately compromised and catastrophic injury and wrongful death are likely consequences. As leaders in tire defect and auto product liability litigation, the Philadelphia tire blowout lawyers at Reiff & Bily have secured some of the largest settlements and verdicts against big name tire manufacturers by proving a causal connection between the defect and a catastrophic injury and death. We won’t hesitate to hold top companies responsible for their negligence, defective manufacturing processes, and flawed design, and seek maximum recovery for your catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.
