Defects in any number of car or other motor-vehicle parts may cause serious dangers to vehicle occupants as well as others with whom they share our roadways. Defective tires, including those with faulty tread, weaknesses in sidewalls, or inadequate rims, are responsible for thousands of injury-causing accidents, every year. In mid-July 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall of approximately 90,000 Hercules Tire & Rubber Company (Hercules) tires for a defect that may cause tread separation, sudden air loss, and a resultant increase in the risk of vehicle crashes. Hercules will notify owners of the affected tires, which will be replaced by dealers, without charge.
Defects in motor-vehicles may cause accidents resulting in serious injury or death. The Killino Firm’s auto- and car-accident attorneys have extensive experience with cases arising out of traffic accidents caused by defects in motor vehicles, including defects in tires. If you have been injured or one of your loved ones has been killed through use of or exposure to a defective car or other product, contact The Killino Firm for more information about your legal rights and options.
Who May Be Held Legally Responsible for Accident Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defective Tires?
Automobile tires and other motor-vehicle components are subject to compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which are published in chapter 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Tires and other vehicle parts manufactured in violation of FMVSS may be found defective in products-liability actions and the manufacturer (and others in the chain of the vehicle’s production and distribution) held legally responsible for injuries caused by such defects.
Even if a car manufacturer has fully complied with current industry standards and applicable FMVSS, however, the manufacturer and others involved in a vehicle’s production and distribution (such as a car’s designer, suppliers, assemblers, wholesaler, and, in some states, retailer) may be held liable for injuries found to have been caused by vehicle defects, as that term is defined in products-liability law. Such defendants may be held strictly liable (i.e., without proof of negligence on the part of any of the defendants) for injuries caused by defects in a vehicle or vehicle component’s design, manufacture, or warnings that rendered the vehicle unreasonably dangerous for consumers’ use. In order to hold these defendants strictly liable for injuries or deaths caused by such defects, a plaintiff must establish that the defect existed both at the time the vehicle was sold and at the time the injury-causing accident occurred.
Obtain Legal Assistance from The Killino Firm, P.C.
The Killino Firm has received national recognition for its representation of people who have been injured by defective motor vehicles and was involved in a products-liability case that led to the recall of 450,000 defective tires manufactured in China. If you have been injured or one of your family members has died in an accident involving a defective motor vehicle, The Killino Firm’s personal-injury and wrongful-death attorneys can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
