Tire Failure

You Can File A Claim For Tire Failure in New York and New Jersey

Your 4,000 pound vehicle rests on top of four inflated tubes of rubber as you travel throughout New York and New Jersey. Although tires are only a small component on the vehicle, they play a major role when it comes to your ability to make it to your destination. You rely on every part of your car to work properly and keep the people you love safe.

However, there are many instances where tires fail. In fact, more than 11,000 tire-related motor vehicle accidents take place each year in the United States. These accidents leave tens of thousands of people injured while claiming the lives of hundreds of people.

Tire failure can cause loss of vehicle control and cause both single-car and multiple-car accidents. If you have been injured in a car accident, due to a tire-related issue, you may have legal options available to help you throughout the recovery process. You can take action, get the compensation you deserve and hold the manufacturer accountable.

For over 30 years, the car accident attorneys at Metro Law have been protecting the rights of New York and New Jersey personal injury victims whose accidents were caused by tire failure. We have handled thousands of car and truck accident cases involving auto defects.

Preventing a Tire-Failure Accident

Although you cannot anticipate when an accident is going to occur, there are a few steps you can take to minimize the risks of being harmed in an accident. Be sure to regularly inspect your tires for:

  • Scrapes, cuts, and cracks on the tires
  • Bulges or bumps on the tires
  • Breaks in the fabric of the tires

Even if you do not see any of these defects, you may still be involved in an accident due to a tire failing. It is important that you contact a skilled attorney quickly.

Who is at Fault?

Tire failure is often the catalyst that leads to serious car accidents such as SUV rollovers and pedestrian accidents. Many factors can lead to a bad tire. We will conduct an exhaustive investigation into your accident, so we can understand what caused your tire failure:

  • Weak sidewalls: Most manufacturers will say that their products will last between 6 and 10 years. Rubber will begin to deteriorate as soon as it is exposed to heat and oxygen. Due to the degrading process, rubber tires become more brittle and lose their flexibility. This can result in the inner plies weakening. When weakening occurs, the tires can become more vulnerable. They are no longer able to withstand heat as much as they are supposed to. As a result, a blowout can occur. The weakening of sidewalls can be caused by a variety of defects. These include:
    • Outdated skim stock
    • Undergoing inadequate inspections
    • The use of poor-quality solvents to restore old skim stock
    • Dirt from the hands of workers or other foreign matter/moisture
    • Not having nylon overlays between the treads and steel belts

 

  • Defective materials: Although there are a variety of materials used in tires, most tires are composed of synthetic rubber, natural rubber, steel, silica, or nylon. If any of these materials are contaminated or defective, it can result in the tire failing. This can lead to a serious collision.
  • Defective design: When the design of tires does not meet the criteria specified by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), it can lead to various defects. Some include:
    • Cap ply defects
    • Material contaminations
    • Rubber components with liner markers
    • Trapped water or air
    • Design flows in the inner liner of tires
    • Skim stock flows
    • Flaws in the belt wedge

These defects can lead to various failures that negatively impact victims across the New York and New Jersey areas. Tires can fail for a variety of reasons. There are generally four types of failures that impact tires more than others. These include:

  • Tread separation: Thread separations can be a result of both manufacturing defects and design defects. Either defect can cause premature wear that increases the chances of a blowout occurring.
  • Tire sidewall collapse:When sidewalls are defective or are created with insufficient materials, it can result in unanticipated blowouts and collapses.
  • Tire bead failures:It is crucial that tire beads have adequate reinforcement. When they do not have the proper reinforcement, it can result in the integrity of your tires being compromised. This can lead to blowouts resulting from the loss of pressure.
  • Tire explosions:If tires are mounted onto multi-piece tire rims that are defective, it can result in a devastating explosion.

Tire separations are one of the most common causes of tire failure. In more modern vehicles, we see many accidents take place due to tread separation. This occurs when the belts that are located under the tire treads come apart. This can lead to drivers losing control of their vehicles and being involved in severe collisions.

Following a tire-related accident, you must reach out to our car accident lawyers in New Jersey as soon as possible. Our team can help you determine the cause of your accident and identify all liable parties. Following a tire defect accident, there are various parties to whom you can pursue legal action. These include:

The manufacturer of the tire: If your tire failure was the result of a defective product, you can file a suit against the tire manufacturer.

The manufacturer of the vehicle: If your accident occurred in a newer car, you may have a claim against the car manufacturer who chose the tire.

The distributor: If a distributor failed to stop the distribution of a vehicle equipped with defective tires, they can be held liable.

The retailer: If a retailer knowingly sold you a vehicle that had one or multiple defective tires, you can file a claim against them for putting profit over the safety of consumers.

We will work with experienced investigators to determine the cause of your tire failure and figure out the best way to reach the settlement you deserve.

Tire failure can happen at any time, and when it happens in traffic or at high speeds, it can lead to serious accidents that cause severe injuries. As your attorneys, it is our job to help you get proper medical treatment after tire failure caused your car accident.

Injured by a Tire Blowout?

Reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that more than 8,000 auto wrecks take place every year in the United States due to tire blowouts. The term blowout is used to describe any situation where a tire quickly loses air pressure in an explosive manner. These incidents cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles. If the tire deflates, the vehicle can become vulnerable to rolling over or veering into oncoming traffic. This can result in a life-changing accident that leaves you with severe injuries. Some common injuries that victims sustain in tire-related accidents include:

  • Broken bones
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
  • Burn injuries
  • Neck and soft tissue injuries
  • Back injuries
  • Muscle and nerve damage

Recovering from these and other painful injuries is a very long and costly ordeal. For this reason, you must contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Metro Law will help you determine what led to your accident taking place and the legal options available for you.

Although there are instances where tire blowouts are caused by improper maintenance, it is crucial that you reach out to a personal injury lawyer before taking any action. A fearless legal team will review the circumstances surrounding your accident and determine if you have grounds to file a legal claim against a negligent party. A consultation with our lawyers at Metro Law will help you understand the legal options available to you so you can choose the most appropriate course of action moving forward.

Determining Liability in a New York or New Jersey Tire Defect Case

As with any claim surrounding a personal injury accident, tire failure cases will rely on whether you are able to prove that the defect is the precise cause of your crash. The defendant will try to argue that the damage to the tire was caused by the crash rather than the cause of the collision. Unless you are thoroughly prepared to prove otherwise and work with aggressive product liability lawyers like our team at Metro Law, then the judge and jury may agree with their argument instead of yours.

Our skilled and knowledgeable New York and New Jersey tire defect lawyers will help you gather proof and present it on your behalf to ensure you are able to prevail while pursuing legal action against negligent parties.

Some of the strongest evidence will present on your behalf include:

Photo Evidence: Our team will take pictures of each tire on your vehicle. Presenting photos of both defective tires and tires that did not contribute to your accident. Our ability to compare both functional tires and defective tires will allow us to prove the role of the defective tire in your accident.

Eyewitness testimonies: Drivers who are traveling in vehicles while sharing the road with you often have the best views of tires. When tires explode, collapse, or fail, other drivers are likely to witness it first-hand. If other drivers pullover with you following your accident, our team will gather testimony from witnesses that highlights what they saw at the time of the accident.

Product history: Our personal injury lawyers will investigate the tire brand’s history to see if they have any other claims surrounding defects and faulty products. We will investigate the manufacturers and other involved parties to see if they routinely produce defective products. If there are multiple other events reported, a product liability issue is almost guaranteed.

Using ample evidence and our effective legal strategies, Metro Law has successfully fought tire defect cases for our clients in the past that have recovered favorable verdicts and settlements.

What to do After an Accident Caused by a Tire Defect?

If you were involved in an accident, and you believe that it was caused by a defective tire, the first thing you should do is speak to one of our New York car accident lawyers. Metro Law will guide you through the complex litigation and claims process. The sooner you retain the guidance of our knowledgeable lawyers, the safer you will be against bad-faith manufacturers. Metro Law’s tire defect attorneys will not only fight to protect your legal rights following an accident, but we will advocate on your behalf regardless of whether you live in New York or New Jersey.

Once you have retailed our trustworthy legal services, our lawyers will determine if you need to file an individual claim following your accident or if there is a mass tort case surrounding the product.

The attorneys at Metro Law are excellent at gathering effective evidence while building strong legal cases on behalf of our clients. We are committed to helping our clients recover financial compensation to help cover medical expenses, vehicle repairs, lost wages, and more. Contact our law firm today to protect your legal rights and get the justice you deserve.

CONTACT US

There is truly no excuse for negligence when it comes to the manufacturing and selling of tires. There is no way possible to justify thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths caused by tire defects in the United States. Holding tire manufacturers, service providers, and other liable parties accountable for their misconduct is truly the only thing we can do to prevent these unnecessary crashes from occurring.

If you have been injured in a tire-related accident, you must seek legal assistance as soon as possible. It is only natural to have questions about the role of tire failure in your auto accident. We will help you find the answers.

Our New Jersey personal injury lawyers at Metro Law have over four decades of experience helping victims get justice after being harmed in accidents. Our lawyers will fight diligently to help you obtain the financial compensation you need and deserve after being harmed.

We offer free initial consultations as well as evening and weekend appointments. We also offer Spanish and Portuguese translation services in-house. Contact us online or call 973-344-6587 today for more information.