Tire and Auto Manufacturers Sued After Wharton County Children Suffer Brain Injuries in Crash

Rob Ammons of the Ammons Law Firm has filed a lawsuit against Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and FCA US LLC (also known as Chrysler) on behalf of two brain-injured children. The 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 in which the children were riding was traveling at highway speeds in Wharton County, Texas when its left rear tire experienced a tread separation failure. The driver was unable to control the vehicle with the disabled tire, and the pickup veered out of its lane of travel, collided with another vehicle and then rolled over.

The lawsuit identifies the tire that failed as a Cyclone Radial SUV which Rob Ammons claims was defectively designed and manufactured by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. Specifically, it is alleged that the tire was designed without belt edge gum strips to increase its durability and act as a countermeasure to tread separations. It is also alleged that the tire was built using skim stock that did not contain a sufficient amount of antidegradant chemicals necessary to resist the premature breakdown of the tire’s internal components. Moreover, Ammons alleges that proper bonding of the tire’s components was not achieved when the tire was cured, constituting a manufacturing defect. It is claimed in the lawsuit that Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. was not only negligent in the way it designed and manufactured the tire, but also in failing to properly inspect the tire before placing it into the stream of commerce as well as in failing to warn of the tire’s unreasonably dangerous conditions.

Allegations against Chrysler are based on a lack of crashworthiness. The lawsuit cites defects in the Ram’s rollover protection system – specifically, a weak roof and ineffective seat belts – as the cause of extra injuries to the children which should have been prevented. It is also claimed in the lawsuit that Chrysler was negligent in failing to warn of a lack of crashworthiness in the event of a rollover.

The Ammons Law Firm has a nationwide personal injury practice focusing on tire defects, truck accidents, rollovers, consumer protection and product liability, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, post-collision fires, seat belt defects, airbag defects, and plant explosions.