Tire Failure Accidents & Rollover-Related Tire Failures

Many tire failures result in injuries and deaths. Tire failure can be caused by old,or aged tires, tire tread separations and blow-outs. Many of these tire tread failure or tire belt defects, lead to rollover accidents. These tire tread failure or separations are caused by design or manufacturing defects in the tire and tire tread. When a steel-belted radial tire loses its tread and fails at highway speeds, this failure frequently results in an immediate a loss of control , accident and/or vehicle rollover. When the tire failure or tire blowout occurs to a rear tire, the driver may encounter difficulty controlling the vehicle. This is especially true when the tire failure occurs at highway speeds. When the driver loses control, the rear of the vehicle will often swing around to become perpendicular to the direction of travel (yawing). This type of tire yawing is particularly dangerous as the sidewall of the tire can de-bead itself from the rim, deflating then the rim will dig into the pavement, rod or ground causing the vehicle to trip leading to an overturn / rollover accident. The resulting tire failure and rollover problem is exacerbated by the high center-of-gravity vehicle design which are found in many SUVs, 15 passenger vans and pickup trucks.

In some tire tread failure / rollover cases the tire tread has separated and peeled off the tire leaving just the tire core, without any significant loss of tire pressure. In tire tread failures or separations like this, the driver has a reduced ability to control the vehicle increasing the likelihood of a rollover accident or crash. Sometimes seconds before the tire failure, a strange vibration or thumping sound will be heard, which is the immediate start of the tire tread separation or tire tread failure. As the tire starts to separate, the tire will hit the wheel well and may break off into small pieces. This type of tire failure may have small pieces of tire tread or in one long piece of tread separating during the high speed tire failure. Even with very experienced drivers, such tire failure / tire blowout induced rollover accidents can occur.

Causes of Tire Tread Failures

Tire manufacturers have known that a leading cause of tire failure and tread separation is due to the tire design and placements of the belts and overlying tread. Tire tread separations and belt separation failures and blowouts can also occur due to poor adhesion of the components from the use of old and expired adhesives, unclean manufacturing facility, moisture, oxidation, grease, sawdust, metal fibers and improper temperatures, rust. A problem leading to tire tread separation failure can be the result of tire belt separation due to the failure of rubber to adhere to the metal of the steel belts.

Another major cause of tire failure, blowouts and tread failure may be due to the age of the tire itself. Many tires on vehicles today are too old to be safe.Some tires are getting too old when they are first put on the vehicle from a tire dealer, due to the fact many stay in warehouses for years before they are eventually sold to the consumer. In fact, the tire tread on an old or aging tire may look new and the tire tread may be deep, but the aging process of rubber combined with the heat from summer months, location on the vehicle can cause degradation failure of the rubber, tire tread and the tire tread adhesion to the tire core itself. When such rubber break down or degrading occurs, then the tire tread can come loose and a tire tread failure and tire blowouts especially at highway speeds very likely. Tire manufacturers have known that tire age is major cause of tire tread failure induced rollovers and tire failure accidents throughout the United States.

Tire Failure & Tire Tread Separation Accidents - Injuries & Deaths

Our personal injury law firms have a considerable background in tire tread separation failure litigation and has accumulated a wealth of information pertaining to tire tread failures, defects and have filed numerous tire tread separation lawsuits. We have successfully handled tire tread failure litigation against nearly every major tire manufacturer, including tires made by Bridgestone / Firestone, Michelin, Cooper, Continental Tire, Firestone Tire, Kumho Tire, General, B.F. Goodrich, Uniroyal Tire and Titan Tire. In fact, due to Mr. Rob Ammons' vast knowledge and experience in handling tire defect cases, he was chosen to serve on the Plaintiff's Steering Committee for the National Ford/Firestone tire failure litigation.

In 1997, Ammons & Willis handled one of the nation's first Firestone ATX Radial Tire Failure Tread Separation and Ford Explorer rollover cases which occurred south of Houston, Texas. A products liability lawsuit was filed in 1998 against Ford and Firestone due to the Ford Explorer going out of control and rolling after a back left Firestone ATX radial tire tread failure resulted in the tire tread separating. The above picture is the actual tire tread from the Jackson lawsuit. After a long battle with Ford and Firestone, a very significant confidential settlement was reached by all parties.

On July 17, 2001, Mr. Willis and Mr. Ammons were recognized as select products liability attorneys in the nation and both were awarded the prestigious Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award for their contributions in investigating and gathering evidence pertaining to tire tread failures / tread belt separation and vehicle rollovers in Firestone Tire and Ford Explorer Cases. The efforts by these selected attorneys and others helped lead to the largest recall in U.S. history. This award was presented to Ammons and Willis by the President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Tire Failure & Tread Separation Lawsuits

If you or a member of your family has been seriously injured or a loved one killed in a rollover or accident, in which may have been caused in part to a tire failure, tire blowout or tire tread separation, then call us to discuss this matter with nationally recognized trial lawyers experienced with tire failure defects, blowouts and tire tread separation lawsuits. For a Free & Confidential Case Consultation Click Here or if you prefer, call and talk personally with Mr. Willis or his legal staff at 1-800-883-9858.