Bridgestone Tire Recalls
With 141 production plants spanning 24 countries, Bridgestone Corporation is the largest manufacturer of passenger and commercial tires worldwide. The Tokyo-based company was founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi, and employs over 143,000 across the globe. Many consider the company pioneers of rayon-corded tires.
Bridgestone has a rather long history of tire recalls, with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) information verifying 77 to date, some reaching as far back as 1987.
The tire defect attorneys at Halpern Santos & Pinkert, P.A. have successfully litigated cases again Bridgestone Corporation for numerous motor vehicle accidents resulting in injuries. Should any vehicle you own have this brand of tire installed, and it caused injury to you or anyone you love, our firm can fight to recover compensation for your injuries.
History of Bridgestone tire recalls
Being the largest tire manufacturer means the potential for releasing tires unfit for vehicle use is higher. This fact is driven home by the following brief list of Bridgestone tire recalls:
- 2016: 2,900 Firestone FR710 and Firestone Champion Fuel Fighter were recalled due to reports of tread separation. These were produced and shipped from Bridgestone’s Wilson, NC facility.
- 2009: Bridgestone/Firestone recalled roughly 127,000 Firestone FR 380 tires, size P235/75R15, due to reports of tread distortion and separation. These were factory-made from Sept. 9, 2007 through July 2, 2008.
- 2008: Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 4,202 motorcycle and scooter tires due to failure to adhere to Federal labeling requirements. No known injuries are reported thus far.
- 2000: Bridgestone/Firestone (the latter being Bridgestone’s flagship brand since 1988) recalled 6.5 million P235/75R15 Firestone radial ATX and radial ATXII, which have caused 46 known deaths to date. Produced in two North American plants, the ATX (Mexico) and ATXII (Decatur, IL) were predominantly found on Ford vehicles. 80 additional injuries due to tread separation have been reported by NHTSA.
Government database searches turned up numerous active investigations and recalls less relevant to consumer safety. The 2000 incident remains one of the largest product recalls in North American history.
Have You Been Injured by Bridgestone Tires?
As poor quality tires can lead to personal injury and wrongful death, it’s important consumers understand their legal options. Prior to filing suit, check your tire identification number (TIN) in the NHTSA database to see if current recalls affect your tire.
Your TIN will be a series of letters and numbers starting with DOT and ending with a 4-digit number. The last 4 digits tell you when the tire was produced; so, if the last 4 were 1916, your tire was produced in 19thweek of 2016. This information is vital as tires sold to you subject to recall that end up causing injury will cause the manufacturer to be civilly liable.
Contact the Tire Attorneys at Halpern Santos & Pinkert, P.A.
With 60 years of combined litigation experience, including court battles against tire companies like Bridgestone, we’re able to not only help secure compensation for victims, but get manufacturers to change their quality control and production processes.
Injuries due to Bridgestone tire recalls may qualify victims for an array of monetary and non-monetary benefits. Call Halpern Santos & Pinkert, P.A. at 877-529-6211 for a confidential review of your case at no cost.
