Tire defects can cause serious injury or wrongful death. Contact our law firm today for legal help if you have been harmed by defective tires.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, maintaining tire pressure, observing tire and load limits, avoiding road hazards, and inspecting tires for cuts, slashes, and other irregularities are the most important things you can do to avoid tire failure such as tread separation, flat tires or blowouts. If you or a loved one has been adversely affected by a defective tire, contact our experienced attorneys at Oklahoma Legal Center to review your personal injury or wrongful death claim. Our law firm has experience handling class action lawsuits resulting from defective tire claims. If you have a question or a defective tire claim, contact us to discuss your product liability claim.
On May 31, 2001, Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. (Firestone) submitted a “request” that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) open an investigation into the handling and control characteristics of Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUV) following a tread separation on a rear tire. The request was filed shortly after Ford Motor Company (Ford) announced on May 22, 2001 that it would provide free replacements for all Firestone Wilderness AT tires on Ford vehicles. It was part of Firestone’s effort to argue that the crashes (many of which involved SUV rollovers) that occurred in Explorers following tread separations of Firestone ATX and Wilderness AT tires were to a large extent due to the design of the Explorer rather than a defect in the tires.
If the testing of the Firestone Wilderness AT (all terrain) and the Firestone ATX proved the tires were defective, this would leave Bridgestone/Firestone liable for a defective product they manufactured and distributed throughout the country. These potentially deadly tires spurred a class action lawsuit based on a defective product that many believed the company should be held liable for. Firestone has manufactured as many as 48 million Firestone Wilderness AT and Firestone ATX tires for consumers throughout the United States. Unfortunately, thousands of these tires have failed during use, causing devastating accidents, injuries and fatalities.