Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. And Wal-Mart Sued After Fatal Tread Separation Rollover

On behalf of the surviving mother of a Louisiana man who was killed when his vehicle rolled over, The Ammons Law Firm has filed a lawsuit against Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Wal-Mart. The man was driving his vehicle on a Louisiana interstate when his left rear tire failed through tread separation. The sudden tire failure caused the man to lose control of the vehicle and it rolled over. The man was transported to the hospital but died in the emergency room.

The tire that failed was a Cobra GT designed and manufactured by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. In the lawsuit, Rob Ammons claims the tire was defective. The allegations against the tire company include that Cooper failed to utilize designs, materials, and processes that would have made the tire stronger, more durable, and better able to resist tread separation.

The day before the accident, Wal-Mart was involved in selling and installing two new tires on the man’s vehicle. According to the lawsuit, contrary to industry standards as well as its own policy, Wal-Mart mounted the new tires on the front of the vehicle and left the older tires on the vehicle’s rear wheels. Because a vehicle with a disabled front tire is much more easily controlled than one with a rear tire disablement, say the Plaintiffs, had the Cobra GT been on a front-wheel at the time it failed, the rollover would likely have been avoided and the man’s life spared.

Rob Ammons is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, in addition to being Board Certified in Civil Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Rob Ammons’ law practice, The Ammons Law Firm, is located in Houston, Texas.

The Ammons Law Firm’s practice is exclusively personal injury law, handling such cases as tire defects, oil rig explosions, truck accidents, plant explosions, refinery accidents, wrongful death, post-collision fires, seat belt defects, airbag defects, SUV rollovers, and workplace negligence.