Lawsuits involving defective tires have become more commonplace in recent years.  One may think that a defective tire accident is due to a manufacturer defect. More recently, it has been discovered through lawsuits that there amy be other reasons for defective tires that are quite surprising. In any legal case, the Personal injury from tires can be devastating for the driver, passengers and other car passengers surrounding the car with a defective tire. The following fast facts provide a small sample of why it is important to draw attention to defective tires, including:

• 8,000 traffic accidents resulting in death or severe injuries each year are caused by tire failures, according to The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA).-1-
• 6.5 million defective tires were recalled by Firestone-Bridgestone. -2-
• 13 million defective tires from Ford vehicles between 2001 and 2001, 6 million of defective tires are still in use. -3-
• 17 people killed in Texas bus crash due to tire tread separation and 29 injured in another bus crash, both in August 2008.-4-

Not Only Manufacturer Defect, But Tire Store Misrepresentation and Faulty Tire Repair �
Tires are the most important part in any given vehicle due to the simple fact they consist the only contact with the road. Maintenance is the first priority to prevent injury from tires.  However, tire blow outs, tread and belt separation from their rims are often caused by negligence on behalf of tire manufacturers or tire repair professionals leading to accidents with severe injuries and sometimes to death. In addition, tires may appear new at tire stores but have remained in stock for an extensive time period before purchase. This is another factor that also contributes to unnecessary tread separation. As John Gomez, Attorney at Law, San Diego CA, explains, “Tire defects may relate tires that are purchased as new but have sat on the tire companies rack for months. Aged tires have a higher risk for adhesive breakdown, particularly in hot weather states because the heat against the rubber adds to a breakdown”. 

The Nature of Personal Injury Lawsuits

The repercussions of tire failure are serious and severe especially if it occurs at high speeds in a vehicle with a high center of gravity such as Trucks and SUVs. There are many precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of tire failure by eliminating the most evident causes:
• Under-inflation: Under-inflation causes excessive tread separation and sudden blow out due to overheating especially at highway speeds during hot weather. It could be avoided by following the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended inflation pressure usually stated on the door of the driver side.
• Over-inflation: Over-inflation increases the chance to damage the tires when driving over potholes and curbs.
• Overloading: Overloading could be extremely dangerous because all tires must not exceed their load rating. It could be avoided by following the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure for vehicle load and operating conditions.
• Road Hazards: Road Hazards such as bad potholes, curbs and debris on the road. It could be avoided by steering around road hazards whenever possible, and inspecting the tires for possible damage.
• Structural Defects: Structural Defects such as poor adhesion between the tread and belts are usually the case of huge settlement due t manufacture defects. It could be avoided by checking all new tires for cracks, lumps, bulges and missing chunks of rubber.
• Excessive Speed: Excessive Speed is obvious to cause over heating and tread separation. For people who enjoy driving with higher speeds, they are recommended to use speed-rated tires which have additional reinforcements and are better able to dissipate heat than standard tires.
• Installation: Bad Installation could cause stretching and tearing when the tire is not correctly positioned on the wheel or because of the lack of lubricant when mounting a tire. High performance tires on custom wheels can be easily damaged if they are not mounted properly.

If you have suffered tire failure, you are highly recommended to contact a qualified attorney for advice to take advantage of your legal rights and recover all financial loss from the accident.

Related Topics: Personal Injury and You, Auto Accidents, Trucking Accidents, Busing Accidents, Insurance.
-1-http://www.totalinjury.com/tire_failure.asp
-2-3-http://www.crash-worthiness.com/html/failure.html
      -4-http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1103070,nevcrash81208.article