Michelin and Nissan Pay Texas Family after Fatal Crash

A settlement was reached between The Ammons Law Firm, Michelin and Nissan in a product liability case brought by the wife and children of a 43-year-old Texas man killed in a rollover crash triggered by a tire failure. As the man was operating his 2005 Nissan Titan pickup, its right rear tire came apart, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway where it rolled over, killing the driver. The lawsuit Rob Ammons filed cited the combination of a non-durable tire and a poorly handling vehicle with a dangerously weak roof as causing the man’s death.

The tire was a BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A designed and manufactured by Michelin. In the lawsuit, it was alleged that the tire was built using inadequate materials and without safety features known to both improve durability and prevent tread separation failures.

Allegations against Nissan included that the Titan was designed in such a way that it handled poorly under certain foreseeable circumstances, including disablement of a rear tire, and without a feature known as electronic stability control (ESC) which prevents loss of directional control. It was also alleged by Ammons that the Titan’s roof (which collapsed) and the seat belts (which allowed excessive occupant excursion) were not designed to perform well in a rollover crash and such inadequacy unnecessarily exposed the man to the injuries which caused his death.

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, airbag defects, SUV rollovers and workplace negligence.