Because of the publicity surrounding the Ford/Firestone litigation, tire failures have been reported with increasing frequency.

Although most of us will log thousands of miles in our lifetimes without so much as an air leak, tire failures can and do occur regularly. Many of these failures can be directly attributed to manufacturing defects, design defects or a tire manufacturer’s failure to warn of dangers inherent in their products.

These dangers have been known to the tire industry for years. Tire manufacturers know that tire treads will wear with proper use and at some point fail if not serviced properly and replaced after their intended period of use has expired.

So, tire failures, blowouts and de-treads are foreseeable events.

Although not all fire failures result in serious accidents, the sudden failure of a tire can cause a vehicle to lose ocntrol an droll over or collide with other vehicles on the road. Tire failures are especially dangerous if the vehicle is traveling at highway speeds.

Tire tread separation can be caused by bonding problems in the tire manufacturing process, contaminants introduced into the tire during the tire-making process, under vulcanization, old ingredients, improper sized components or something as simple as air being trapped between the layers of the tire during the tire manufacturing process.

When the tread separates on these defective tires, it can result in single- or multi-vehicle accidents, or even rollovers.

Even auto manufacturers agree that drivers should be able to pull over, not rollover, when a tire de-treads. This, unfortunately, is not always the case.

The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a $32.2 million judgment in Clark County against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company related to a single-car accident in 2004 that killed three people and injured seven.

The court rejected the claim of Goodyear that the amount awarded by the jury was excessive.

The majority decision, written by Justice Mark Gibbons, said there was sufficient evidence to justify the amount because of the loss of life and serious injuries and it does “not shock our judicial conscience.”

The car’s occupants were traveling from Nevada to Kansas when a tire blew out and the vehicle overturned near Moab, Utah, on Interstate 70 on Aug. 16, 2004. Killed were Evertina Tapia, Andres Torres and Frank Enriquez.

A suit was filed by the surviving relatives and guardians of the children against Goodyear, Ford Motor Company and Valley View Hitch & Truck Rental. Both Ford and Valley View settled their claim.

During the pre-trial maneuvering, District Judge Sally Loehrer found that Goodyear failed to produce a witness and gave improper responses to interrogatories. She found that Goodyear “has taken the approach of stalling, obstructing and objecting” in its pre-trial behavior. As a sanction, Loehrer ruled that Goodyear could not present a defense of liability but only could argue to the jury the amount of compensatory damages and if it was subject to punitive damages.

The jury came back with the $32.2 million verdict but didn’t return punitive damages.

Source: The Las Vegas Sun