Who's Liable for a Tire Blowout Injury

According to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, about 738 motor vehicle traffic accidents in 2017 were related to tire crashes. NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) offers TireWise as a resource that drivers can rely on when buying new tires or extending the life and safety of the existing ones. The main concern most motorists have is the person or entity liable for a tire blowout injury.

You may direct a personal injury claim towards the tire seller, distributor or manufacturer in case a defective tire leads to an accident. In California, you won't have to show the person/entity that's responsible for the defect. However, you'll have to prove that the defective tire led to the accident. As the injury victim or the victim's family member, you can seek damages by suing the responsible party.

Vehicle tires are typically designed to transfer the vehicle's weight through an axle onto the road/ground. Since they facilitate traction and steering, you (the driver) can count on them to control your vehicle when avoiding obstacles or driving at high speeds. A defective tire may make you lose partial control of your motor vehicle, causing a crash and injuring you and other passengers on board.

Understanding the common tire defects can help you spot them and reduce your susceptibility to accidents caused by faulty tires. Common tire defects arise from weak points in a tire and tread separation in the tire. They are also caused by design defects, manufacturing defects or making/repairing tires using inferior products.

A blowout may occur due to the rupturing of a tire when your car is moving at high speed. Common causes of tire blowouts include tread separation, manufacturing defects, and design defects. When the rubber loses its bond with the fabric reinforcement and internal steel belting, it's possible for a tire to lose a lot of air pressure. A rapid air pressure loss may make the tire unstable and more susceptible to rupture.

A vehicle owner's negligence may be the leading cause of a tire blowout. Instances such as intentionally using bad tires or overloading a vehicle may result in a blowout and a car crash. Driving at high speeds with a tire blowout may make you lose control of your car, drive off your path or suddenly crash into another vehicle or a barrier.

Tread Separation

The part of a tire characterized with groove patterns is known as a tread. Treads make it easy for a tire to grip the road/ground when a vehicle is moving. Groove patterns, on the other hand, prevent water accumulation when driving on a wet surface and enable the tire to expel water. Without the grooves, your vehicle may slide on a wet surface making you lose control of it.

Tread separation is likely evident in new tires with manufacturing defects or design problems. You may notice this separation in tires that have recently been retreaded but haven't been allowed to cure properly. It's also possible to notice it when inferior products are used in retreading a tire. Other causes of tread separation include improper flat tire repair and lack of tire maintenance.

If a tire is defective at the time of purchase, product liability laws in California don't mandate you to show the responsible party. The party that sold, designed or manufactured the faulty product should be liable for any injuries the product causes. As a consumer, you're not in the best position to determine the causes of tire defects since they may have risen from design or manufacturing errors.

You can blame a tire blowout accident to parties such as the mechanic, tire seller and tire repair shop of the tire was in good shape when sold to you. In California, negligence is one of the factors used to determine the person who's at fault in an injury case. In this case, the responsible party must have been negligent about caring for a tire or having a tire repaired for them to be blamed for a tire blowout.

The skills of a proficient personal injury attorney can help you understand some of the complex legal terms and rules related to your particular claim. Remember that the seriousness of your injury may call for certain laws to be used to determine whether you deserve damages. Since the main reason for hiring a lawyer is to get a fair share of the damages, here are some of the injuries and accidents a lawyer may help you claim damages.

Toxic Exposure

A tire blowout may expose you to contaminants found in the car tire, air or soil. You may also experience injuries on organs such as the eyes, lungs or skin due to toxic exposure. Filing a claim based on such exposure can be hard to prove without a lawyer's help and evidence extracted from scientific methods.

Severe Injuries

Severe injuries may arise from a tire blowout incident making you incur lots of medical bills and lose time at work or school when seeking medical attention. They don't necessarily have to be permanent or temporary for you to be compensated. A competent personal injury lawyer can assist you in receiving the highest settlement possible.

Permanently Disabling or Long-term Injuries

When your car tire erupts, it’s possible to lose control of your car and hit an obstacle or another vehicle. Your car may even roll over the road or topple over a steep slope. Either way, such incidents may expose to permanently disabling or long-term injuries. Your only hope at getting the most out of your injury claim is an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Your goal for filing a lawsuit against the tire manufacturer or seller is to seek damages. Note that defects in tires may include manufacturing defects or design defects. If the manufacturer fails to warn motorists like you about the faults in a tire, it's also likely to result in a vehicle crash. A lawsuit focused on product defects can help you or your family member recover lost wages, pain, and suffering and medical/hospital bills. The suit also helps recover your lost earning potential and car repair costs.

If a tire blowout incident results in a person's death, you may file a lawsuit for wrongful death as the victim's family member. Such a suit aims at seeking compensation and holding the tire company/manufacturer liable for their actions. It's also possible for a vehicle crash to be caused by a motorist who's aware that his/her car has a faulty tire. If you're the injured pedestrian, driver or passenger in this scenario, you can sue the negligent driver.

Legal experts use the phrase "compensatory damages" to refer to damages sought when you're involved in an accident. Compensatory damages are usually categorized as either economic or non-economic depending on the actual value they hold. Economic ones have a dollar value that's determinable while non-economic ones, which are based on other losses suffered, are hard to calculate. Economic damages may include property damage, lost wages, and medical bills while non-economic ones may consist of pain and suffering.

When you seek compensation that can be attached to a certain dollar amount, your goal is to recover money spent on an injury. The settlement helps cover costs you've already incurred or expenses you'll incur in the future. For non-economic damages, your focus is to recover personal losses including loss of the ability to enjoy life, and disfigurement. Other injuries include physical impairment (losing an organ), emotional distress and pain and suffering.

Notifying the party that's allegedly responsible for your injury about your intention to sue them may increase the likelihood of getting a fair resolution. The notice aims at preserving your rights as the victim and preventing the other party from alleging that you waited for an extended period before informing them about your losses or injuries. Once you deliver the notice, you and your lawyer can move at any pace you want while negotiating and processing the injury claim with the other party's insurance company.

Is There Any Deadline for Filing the Injury Claim?

In California, deadlines for filing lawsuits are usually determined by a legal framework referred to as the statute of limitation. You have up to two years from experiencing a tire blowout injury to file an injury claim. If you or a medical practitioner didn't discover the injury right way, you'd have one year from the discovery date to make a claim.

In a lawsuit filed against a tire company, you'll assume the role of a plaintiff. You should hire a personal injury lawyer to help prove ways in which a defective tire resulted in the tire blowout. Through legal help, you should show that:

● You suffered an injury or were harmed due to the faulty tire
● The tire had defects when the manufacturer or seller sold it to you
● You used the tire reasonably before the accident occurred
● The accused party (the defendant) designed, manufactured, sold or distributed a defective tire

To support your injury claim, your lawyer may invite an expert witness to testify. Testimony given by such a witness may help you show that the tire blowout and your injuries were as a result of a particular tire defect. Expect your lawyer to share information about your accident with an engineer or other specialists. Such a strategy helps you to have an expert (who'll give an opinion on the tire defect) on board.

Both the victim (you) and the responsible party are entitled to a lawyer. You should expect the tire seller, company or distributor's lawyer to use certain legal defenses to challenge your claim. Such arguments help them avoid taking responsibility or liability for the tire blowout and your injuries. They may include:

● You (the plaintiff) caused the tire blowout
● The company didn’t make, sell or distribute the defective tires
● You weren’t injured in the tire blowout accident
● Someone else altered or modified the tire before you bought it
● You misused the tire or used it in an irresponsible way
● The tire that blew out didn’t have any defects

Your lawyer can still help you recover partial damages if the tire company manages to prove that you’re partly to blame for the tire blowout. There’s a law (the comparative fault law) in California that allows you (the plaintiff) to claim damages depending on your level of fault. For instance, if the tire company/seller is 100 percent at fault for the tire blowout, you may be awarded 100 percent of your damages.

Fault in a tire blowout incident may be split between you (the injured party) and the tire company/seller. Your damages will be reduced depending on your own negligence that contributed to the incident. The jury will determine the percentage of fault both of you have and ask for the award to be reduced or increased accordingly.

A jury or judge will decide the liability level in injury cases such as tire blowout injuries by referring to the comparative fault law. If you sue the tire seller/company by stating that their negligence led to the blowout, you must prove that they acted negligently. Through your lawyer, you should also demonstrate that the company's negligence was the main factor that caused your injury.

In the past, you couldn't recover any damages if a judge in California found you at fault of an accident even if the percentage of fault was little. Courts used to follow a law referred to as the contributory negligence law back then. California residents got a relief when the state's Supreme Court ruled that this law should be replaced with the comparative fault law. As of 1975 when this law was enacted, you can get a certain percentage of your damages even when at fault.

As much as you expect justice to prevail when finding out who's responsible for the injuries you experienced in a tire blowout, you should be ready for any occurrences. There may be a likelihood that you were to blame for the accident. If this is the case, a civil court in California will follow a pure comparative negligence standard when handling your case. Such a standard allows the accused party (tire company/seller) to recover any amount of damages that you caused.

Suing the tire manufacturer or seller won’t prevent them from suing you. The seller or manufacturer may sue (countersue) you for defamation or making false claims. Such a lawsuit may help them maintain their reputation or recover the expenses incurred when challenging your claims.

The jury will determine your fault and damages after establishing that both of you are partially at fault. Each party may get separate awards once the jury decides the amount of damages both of you should get. If the counter lawsuit is rejected, you may end up receiving 100 percent of the damages.

At times, you may file a lawsuit for a tire blowout injury against two or more parties. Such parties may include the tire manufacturer (for knowingly making defective tires) and the tire seller (for intentionally selling defective tires). A jury will split fault between these parties including you if you’re at fault. Either way, the total percentage of fault must be equal to 100.

While filing a lawsuit enables you to get compensated for your injuries or losses, you need to have a proficient personal injury lawyer to help you with the process. Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney understands how frustrating and challenging the process can be, and our goal is to ease your burden. We target our Los Angeles client base with legal services on auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, and medical malpractice among others. Get a free case evaluation from us by calling our injury lawyer at 424-231-2013 today.