Defective Tires, Defective Airbags and Defective Seatbelts

Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Defective Tire Attorney ● Defective Airbag Attorney ● Defective Seatbelt Attorney ● Products Liability Lawyer

While contacting a lawyer is an important step in pursing any claim, sometimes a person’s claim is lost before the lawyer is contacted. In some car accidents the airbag fails to deploy, the seat belt fails to work, a tire blows out or a tire tread separates. The insurance company quite reasonably wants to resolve the claim for damage to the car. They buy it at salvage value and destroy it or ship it away never to be seen again. Once the vehicle is gone, it is likely that any lawsuit arising from the air bag failure, seatbelt failure or tire failure goes away, as well. In order to prevail against a manufacturer, the airbag or tire must be retained. Without it, the court usually won’t allow the claim proceeds. So, if you suspect a product or piece of equipment failed, you should try to preserve the car in your possession, tell the insurance companies to preserve it (in writing) or contact an attorney as soon as possible. Any motor vehicle accident involving serious injury or death, including paralysis, loss of limb or brain damage should be carefully analyzed for possible product liability claims.

There are thought to be two collisions in an auto accident. The first collision is the vehicle’s impact with another vehicle or object. The second collision is the passenger’s or driver’s impact with the interior of the vehicle, or in cases of ejection, impact outside the vehicle. Seatbelt injuries occur when a defective seat belt fails to adequately protect a driver or passenger in the second collision phase of an automobile accident. The purpose of a seatbelt is to minimize the injuries caused in a second collision by reducing or eliminating injurious occupant contact with the vehicle’s interior. Seatbelt injuries often occur when there is a seatbelt design, production or installation defect.

You may have seatbelt case if:

• an occupant, who was believed to have been belted, is found unbelted after the accident;
• a belted occupant makes contact with the vehicle interior, resulting in injury;
• the occupant is ejected outside the vehicle or outside the restraint of the seat belt, but the seatbelt buckle is still latched;
• the webbing of the seatbelt is loose after the accident;
• the webbing of the seatbelt is torn;
• the door mounted seat belts in the vehicle were ineffective when the door of the vehicle opened;
• the seat belt is “only” a lap belt or shoulder belt;
• the vehicle occupant compartment is intact and a belted occupant is injured; or
• the seat belt mounts came loose from the floor or vehicle pillars during the accident.

Because of the publicity surrounding the Ford/Firestone litigation, tire failures have been reported with increasing frequency. One type of tire failure is tread separation. Tire tread separation can be caused by bonding problems in the tire process, contaminants introduced into the tire during the tire making process, under-vulcanization, old ingredients, improper sized components, or something as simple as air trapped between the layers of the tire during manufacturing. In 2008, faulty Chinese tires made it onto the highway. Many tires were made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Foreign Tires Sales of New Jersey was responsible for bringing the Chinese made tires into the country and there may be other distributors. The tires were sold under the names of Compass, Telluride, Westlake and YKS. The defect occurred because the manufacturer failed to place adhesive strips between the tire belts. The tires were also dangerous because their inner liners were too thin, permitting air to leak and damage the outer walls of the tire.

At Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC, we can tell you about the importance of keeping the pieces of the faulty tire faulty airbag or faulty seatbelt. Our personal injury lawyers can work with you to obtain compensation from a tire, airbag or seatbelt manufacturer, distributor or retailer and the car manufacturer. Our attorneys can quickly evaluate the facts of your case and give you our honest opinion about the damages that may be available in your case. Should you decide to proceed with our firm representing you, we will work hard to handle your case as efficiently and quickly as possible in order to get you the help that you need to deal with your medical bills, lost wages, and recovery.

Our firm represents defective tire, defective airbag, defective seatbelt and products liability victims throughout west-central Pennsylvania. We offer free initial consultations. The majority of our services are provided on a contingent fee basis which means that you will pay no attorneys' fees unless we are able to achieve a verdict or settlement on your behalf.

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Carol Rosenbloom Associates, LLC
Toll Free: 1-800-511-2411