Separation Anxiety: Basic Discovery in Tire Tread Separation Cases.
Picture this scenario: you receive a call concerning an automobile accident in which the tread pealed off a steel belted radial tire on the client’s vehicle. The ensuing rollover resulted in serious injuries. It sounds like a straightforward product liability case, because the tire is a simple piece of rubber, which must have been defective if the entire tread detached. You file the case and request the usual product liability discovery such as test data, warranty claims, and information concerning other injuries and accidents. Unfortunately, the defendant tire manufacturer produces little useful information and asserts that there has never been a problem with another tire of the identical model and size as your client’s tire which was also manufactured at the same plant during the same time period as your client’s tire. You notice up a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of the tire manufacturer in hopes of gaining ammunition to support a motion to compel. However, the witness is emphatic that tires of different sizes, tread patterns, and load ranges are all distinct and unique products even if they share common components and experience the same mode of failure. The witness testifies that only tires of the same model and size manufactured at the same facility during the same time period are comparable products. Now what?
The reality is that steel belted radial tires are complex products manufactured from numerous components through a multi-phase process. The tire industry is rather unique in its manufacturing, testing, and warranty procedures, and these complexities give the manufacturers plenty of obstacles to hide behind in discovery. Before you can hope to get anywhere in a tire defect case, it is essential to understand the various components of a steel belted radial tire, as well as how the tires are tested, analyzed, and warranted. This article is intended to provide an introduction to the basics of discovery in a tire tread separation case.
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This article was written by David A. Cutt, for more information please click here.
