Yokohama Tire Manufacturer Lawsuits
Defective tires happen for one of two reasons. Either the tire defect is attributable to shoddy manufacturing or the tire itself has some problem with the design. Some companies are guilty of both of these at any given time.
The tire itself is composed of discrete parts, just like a car. The body of the tire is attached to the treads using steel belting. There are a number of things that go wrong when attempting to bond steel to rubber, but when the proper safety protocols are followed, the tire works as expected. When they aren’t, the treads can separate from the tire or some other problem could be present that can cause the tire to blow out, often when the car is moving.
When a tire blows out while the car is moving, it generally causes catastrophic injuries not only to the driver but others that happen to be in the vicinity.
Yokohama Tire Recalls
Since 2010, there have been three major tire recalls issued by Yokohama. Two of these are related to “inadequate markings” or information or compliance issues related to tire identification. The other recall involved a problem with the geometry of the tire itself.
These tires had “irregular geometry” that made it more likely that the sidewall would give and blow out while the car was in motion. By “irregular geometry” Yokohama was referring to the fact that the interior of the tire’s sidewalls was not of uniform thickness.
Sister of UPS Driver Files a Breach of Warranty Lawsuit against Yokohama
In the summer of 2013, a veteran truck driver was heading down I-10 from Houston to San Antonio. The front tire of his truck blew out while he was driving in the right-hand lane sending him and the truck into a ditch. The truck and both of its trailers tumbled down the embankment until it landed in a creek below.
The 62-year-old driver was pinned beneath the wreckage of his truck for 30 minutes. After he was found, he was transported to a nearby hospital where he died hours later. Toxicology reports show that he was clean of drugs and alcohol.
According to the lawsuit, Yokohama warrantied the tire to the point at which the tread depth indicators were worn down to 1.6 mm. The plaintiff claims that the tire had not been worn down that for when it blew out.
Talk to a Defective Tire Attorney
If you believe that a tire was responsible for an accident that injured either yourself or a loved one, talk to the personal injury attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert. Product liability lawsuits of this nature are quite complicated, but our attorneys have the experience and the manpower to represent your interests against a major corporation like Yokohama.
If someone you love has been killed because a defective tire blew out at the wrong place at the wrong time or you and your loved ones were injured when a tire blew out, you may be able to recover damages. Give our attorneys a call or contact us online and we can begin discussing your options to hold the company that manufactured the product responsible.
