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San Diego Auto Accident Attorneys helping victims of Defective Tires
Having litigated numerous tire failure cases, our San Diego car accident attorneys are well aware that tire defects result in thousands of serious accidents, injuries and deaths each and every year. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), over 8,000 accidents causing serious personal injury or death occur every year as a result of tire failure.
Defective tires can be defined as any tires that are improperly manufactured or feature a defective design. Most instances of tire failure are a direct result of this manufacturing defect. These cases are difficult, and usually require a panel of experts to reconstruct the accident, calculate physics and vehicle dynamics, and more. Given the complexity of these cases and the severity of injuries that result from tire failures, having a San Diego auto accident attorney who can help you through the process of litigation will help to put your mind as ease so that you can focus on what matters most - your own recovery.
While tires may appear to us as an ordinary object, they are complex both in their design and in their manufacture. Made in a series of intricate processes, steel-belted radial tires carry a risk for tread separation due to difficulties in adhering steel to rubber when the tire is manufactured. This thread separation is the primary cause of tire failure in steel-belted radial tires, and using tires at high speeds or in hot weather further increases this risk.
Tire defects can have devastating effects, including serious property damage, personal injury, and even death. When a defective rear tire suffers a blowout on a highway, a driver will lose control as the vehicle fishtails to the point of becoming perpendicular with the direction of travel, often causing a rollover.
Not only do defective tires pose a risk while driving, but they can also cause serious or fatal injuries during the mounting and inflation process. Tire explosions during inflating are most often caused by bead failure, milt-piece rim failure and sidewall failure. If a loved one has lost their life as a result of any type of tire defect, a San Diego wrongful death attorney from our team will assist you in seeking the compensation you rightfully deserve.
The bead wire is the weakest component of a tire. Tires rarely explode when being inflated, but a defectively weak bead wire and an over-filled tire may cause an explosion to occur. The safety instructions created by manufacturers generally apply to brand new tires only. Older tires that have been in service for a number of miles can often be overfilled even when adhering to the manufacturer's safety guidelines.
Multi-piece wheels (rims) have been accountable for many injuries and deaths of tire mounters since their inception. Attempts to ban these products have been unsuccessful, though more strict safely regulation has been introduced.
Sidewall failures (also known as zipper failures because of the way they tear the sidewall on explosion), generally happen as the tire is being inflated. When a tire's sidewall suddenly explodes, the inflator and often bystanders are seriously injured. Despite many documented instances of this occurrence, there is unfortunately there is no way to tell if a tire will be at risk for sidewall failure.
Let our San Diego auto accident attorneys help you with your defective tire lawsuit.
Given the sheer complexity of the issues involved, tire failure cases require a great deal of investigation into the cause of the failure. In handling these cases, our San Diego car accident attorneys work with the top industry experts, engineers, accident reconstruction specialists and medical professionals to determine the cause of a tire failure and the merits of any particular case. Our experience in tire defect litigation has taught us that a strong tire defect case can only be built upon thorough investigation into the cause of the defect, a complete understanding of the intricate laws governing tire defects, and attorney diligence. This is exactly what Berman & Riedel, LLP offers, and, as a testament to our success, our attorneys have routinely obtained the maximum recovery possible for our tire defect clients. If you reside in San Diego or Southern California, please get in touch with one of our San Diego auto accident attorneys for a no-obligation case evaluation.