Michelin Pays in Fatal Crash Caused by Defective Tire

A settlement was reached between The Ammons Law Firm and Michelin North America, Inc. in a product liability case brought by an injured occupant as well as the survivors of a 53-year-old Florida woman killed in a rollover crash triggered by a tire failure.

The tire at issue was a BF Goodrich Radial Long Trail T/A designed and manufactured by Michelin. The tire failed through separation of its tread from its carcass. In the lawsuit filed against the manufacturer, Rob Ammons claimed that the design employed by Michelin for the Long Trail T/A made use of belt skim rubber that was not enriched with anti-oxidants to provide resistance to fatigue. Additionally, the tire’s design did not incorporate durability features shown to reduce tread separation failures: a proper wedge design and a full nylon cap ply.

It was also alleged that the Long Trail T/A tires were manufactured at a plant under conditions that, according to statements of former plant employees, likely compromised the integrity of the materials and processes used in building the tires.

“Neither the design nor the manufacture of this tire even came close to conforming with the state of the art at the time it was built. In fact, the manner in which this particular tire was designed and built even failed to conform to generally recognized and prevailing standards in the tire industry,” says Ammons.

The Ammons Law Firm is located in Houston, Texas and practices personal injury law, including cases involving: tire defects, oil rig explosions, truck accidents, plant explosions, refinery accidents, wrongful death, post-collision fires, seat belt defects, seatback defects, air bag defects, SUV rollovers and workplace negligence.