RENO COUNTY, Kansas — A 56-year-old semi-truck driver was hospitalized Monday afternoon after a tire failure caused his truck to leave U.S. Highway 50 in Reno County.
Authorities said Carlos Lara-Chacon, 56, of Liberal, was driving a 2021 Volvo semi-truck west on U.S. 50 when the truck’s right front tire failed.
Emergency medical personnel transported Lara-Chacon to the hospital for treatment. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported that he was properly restrained at the time of the crash.
Commercial Truck Tire Failures Raise Questions About the Tire
Truckers drive stretches of miles, spending countless hours on our roadways to ensure the public receives the goods they need on time. They already face many dangers on the road; unsafe tires should not be one of them.
But more and more, we are seeing cases like this one in Kansas, where a semi-truck tire suffers a failure, and the driver is seriously hurt and sometimes even killed. This is something that should never happen and deserves further investigation.
We are handling several matters in which the same situation plays out. In Arizona, our client, driving a cement truck, experienced a front tire blowout. He couldn’t handle the sudden pull of the truck, and it rolled over several times, leaving him with life-changing injuries. The tire company tried to blame our client, saying he should have controlled the blowout at high speeds. They also blamed the company for failing to properly maintain the tire. But when we examined the failed tire, it became clear that a belt-to-belt tread separation had occurred due to improper tire production—a sign that something went wrong during manufacturing.
This is among many matters we have handled for individuals seriously injured or killed due to defective truck tires. It’s a significant issue requiring greater accountability from tire manufacturers.
It’s important to stress that when a commercial truck’s tire suddenly fails, many might think it’s just bad luck or a maintenance issue. Some might even think nobody is at fault for the tire failure. But in many instances, tire manufacturers failed to adhere to the highest safety standards during production, resulting in a defective tire prone to premature failure.
In those instances, it’s not the driver’s fault. It’s the manufacturer who failed and should be held accountable.
We do not yet know why the right front tire failed in this crash. That is why the failed tire must be preserved and examined by trained professionals who know what signs to look for. Mr. Lara-Chacon deserves to know whether this was an unavoidable tire failure or whether a defective tire caused his truck to leave the roadway.
We hope Mr. Lara-Chacon makes a full recovery and receives the answers and accountability he deserves.
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The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, with extensive experience in complex auto/tire defect and commercial vehicle cases.
Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice. Information contained in this blog was compiled from third-party sources or is the opinion of the author. Please inform us immediately if false or misleading information is contained in this post.
