Bridgestone and Discount Tire Compensate Children of Texas Woman Killed in Tread Separation Crash

The Ammons Law Firm has won compensation for the four children of a 41-year-old Texas woman. The victim died after the left rear tire on the Toyota Sienna she was driving on the highway failed through tread separation. The sudden tire disablement caused the van to move into the highway’s center wall and then roll over. The woman suffered fatal injuries in the crash, and her death at the scene was witnessed by her two youngest children who were passengers in the Sienna.

The tire that failed was a Bridgestone Turanza EL42 which, in the lawsuit Rob Ammons filed, was alleged to have been defectively designed and manufactured. According to the lawsuit, adequate bonding of rubber components had not been achieved during the tire’s manufacture, and the tire’s design lacked a feature known to prevent tread separations. Ammons also contended that the tire had been poorly assembled, further compromising its durability.

According to the lawsuit, the Bridgestone tire that failed had legal tread depth but was nearly 13 years old at the time of the crash. When a new tire was purchased for the Sienna at Discount Tire a couple of weeks before the crash, technicians mounted it on the front of the vehicle while the old Turanza was left on the rear. Because the newest, best tires should be positioned on a vehicle’s rear axle to provide the safest handling — something Discount Tire knew and even reflected on its work order but failed to do in this case — Discount Tire was also sued.

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, air bag defects and plant explosions.