Tire Blowout and Defective Tires

I was injured in an accident after a tire blowout – can I sue the manufacturer?

In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, 738 people in the United States died in tire-related accidents. Based on these statistics, more people die from tire-related crashes than from distracted driving involving cellphones. Meanwhile, a 2003 NHTSA report stated an annual estimate of 414 fatalities and 10,275 non-fatal injuries stemming from 78,392 crashes. Given these figures, motorists need to pay more attention to their tires. They also need to be aware of their options if their tire causes them to crash and get injured.

Being in a vehicle that experiences a tire blowout can be a scary situation, and it can have serious consequences. The sudden, explosive loss of pressure can happen even if you just purchased a brand-new tire. It is possible that you purchased a warranty, so replacing won’t be a financial burden.

But what happens if your car sustained damage during the blowout? What if a tire blowout caused the vehicle driver to lose control of the car and cause an accident? What if you or a loved one were injured in an accident caused by the blowout? These are not going to be covered under your tire’s warranty agreement, and the options available will require you to consult with an experienced lawyer who has handled defective tire and dangerous tire blow out cases.

Why Did My Tire Blowout Occur?

A number of factors can cause a tire to blow out. It may be worn out and below the minimum tread depth, under-inflated or over-inflated. A slow leak can also lead to a blowout as can structurally compromised tires. In addition, external factors like temperature, potholes, and debris in the road can exacerbate these issues. Knowing what can cause a blowout will help you to prevent such an incident. But perhaps most importantly, it will enable you to determine who you should hold responsible for the damages caused by the blowout.

Figuring out who is liable for damages or injuries may not be as simple as you think. Different people are responsible for different aspects of your tire and the cause of the blowout. Generally, a defective tire lawyer will want to get possession of the potentially defective tires themselves and have them inspected by a tire expert. This expert will look for critical indicators of the causes of tire failure. Depending on the assessment, you may be able to seek compensation from one or more parties. These are outlined below.

The Manufacturer

A tire manufacturer is responsible for putting out a safe product. When they breach this responsibility, that is when problems may start.

Tire defects are the most common reason that tire manufacturers are sued. Common defects include:

• Specified components not added to the tire
• Failure with the design structure
• Flaws in the tread
• Tread separation
• Failure of strength test
• Tire belt separation
• Sidewall separation
• Rapid and sudden loss of air pressure

A lot of the above issues are generally handled by a product recall. When manufacturers are alerted to issues with a product, they will often recall it for safety purposes.

You can hold them liable for an accident or injury from a tire blowout if there is a design flaw, the tread separates, or known defects exist, and a recall was not issued in a timely manner. To sum it up, you can sue the manufacturer if there was something provably wrong with the tire prior to it leaving their factory. An experienced lawyer will be able to tell you if you have a case or not.

The Garage/Mechanic

When the company that made the tire is not at fault, it is possible the individual or business that installed it is. Just because someone is working in a garage, doesn’t mean that they know one tire from another.

Before you pick out tires, it is important for you to educate yourself on how they work, the maintenance, and how to read them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a PDF guide called TireWise. This guide helps you become knowledgeable about your tires before and after you get them. Improperly serviced tires can cause a lot of problems on the road. Mechanics who mount a tire incorrectly, patch it improperly, or over-inflate or under-inflate it can be liable for damages.

Also, there are times when the lug nuts on a tire are not properly tightened. This can happen due to human error, or if the impactor loses pressure. Tires can not only blowout as a cause, but they can completely come off. A tire shop that sells a tire they know to be defective or unsafe is undoubtedly responsible for the damages or injuries incurred due to a blowout.

Proving this can be difficult if you do not know what to look for. You may be able to take the tire to another mechanic and have them inspect it. They might be able to tell you if the problem was due to human error.

The Government

If neither of the above circumstances explains your blown-out tire, there is a possibility that the road conditions are to blame. If you have never encountered a pothole in the road, consider yourself lucky. Potholes occur when the asphalt or concrete on the road breaks down, usually because of weather. They typically get worse right after winter since the expansion of frozen water breaks up the road surface even more.

Poorly maintained roadways can also cause damage to a tire and cause a blowout. If you find that this is the situation with your tire, you will have to sue the government for any damage and injuries. Depending on where the accident occurs, you may have to go after the county, state, or city. However, it is important to make sure that the road in question is a public road. If it is a private road, you will have to file against the individual that owns it.

Obtain Legal Counsel

After an accident caused by a blowout, it is important to document everything you can about it. If there was property damage or injury, call the police to have a report completed. This report can help you corroborate your story when you file an insurance claim or product liability lawsuit.

Trying to file a lawsuit on your own can be hard. Big corporations can be intimidating, and they will likely be represented by a law firm. Give yourself a fair chance by acquiring your own legal counsel. Lawyers who specialize in personal injury and product liability know all the laws associated with cases like this. They will also know what evidence you will need to win your case. It’s best to reach out to a lawyer as soon as possible after the incident since there are time limits in place for most lawsuits.

Don’t let a tire blowout win, arm yourself, and fight back.