Wilderness AT Tire Tread Separation & Blowout

Ramirez, 43; her son, Jose, 21; and her daughters, Ileana, 17 and Giovanna, 18, were riding in a 1999 Ford Explorer in Mexico when the vehicle's left rear Wilderness AT tire suffered a tread separation and blowout. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over. Ramirez suffered fatal injures. Giovanna suffered a lacerated spleen, a collapsed lung, a fractured left tibia, and multiple contusions. Ileana suffered a fractured left clavicle, fractured ribs, a wound to her right arm, and multiple contusions. Jose Gonzalez suffered multiple contusions and a whiplash injury.

In this tread separation case, Rob Ammons represented the surviving family of Patricia Ramirez. Ramirez's husband, son, and daughters, individually and on behalf of her estate, sued Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone/Firestone alleging both the vehicle and tire were defective and unreasonably dangerous. Specifically, Plaintiffs claimed the Explorer was unstable and prone to roll over, particularly in the event of a tire failure, because it had a high center of gravity and narrow track width. Suit against the manufacturer of the tire alleged the tire was defectively designed and manufactured in that the upper and lower belts had separated, causing the lower belt to separate from the tire body and resulting in a blowout. Plaintiffs further alleged the tire was defectively designed in that the large shoulder pockets that were part of the tire's tread pattern were unusually deep, and, as a result, only a very thin layer of rubber was laid over the belt edge. Plaintiffs claimed the thin layer of rubber was insufficient to dissipate the high shear stress that develops at the belt edge, where separations often start. Plaintiffs also asserted the tire was defectively manufactured in that it had been subjected to a nonuniform vulcanization, or curing, process. Plaintiffs claimed that the two halves of the clamshell-type curing press in which the tire was vulcanized, operated at slightly different temperatures. As a result, Plaintiffs contended, the process created a weakness and subsequent failure midline around the circumference of the lower belt, which is where the two halves of the press come together.

Salinas v. Bridgestone/Firestone N. Am. Tire, L.L. C., Tex., Val Verde County 83d Jud. Dist. Ct., No. 24,507.

A confidential settlement was reached at a pretrial mediation.