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Our client, C.P., was severely injured in a car wreck when a Range Rover driven by his brother rolled over. This motor vehicle accident occurred in broad daylight on an interstate highway.
The police investigation revealed that this car accident occurred because the right rear tire of the vehicle blew out. There was no debris in the roadway and no road defects were present to explain why the tire blew out.
C.P. was severely injured; he suffered a broken neck that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He had to be placed in a nursing home and later died from the complications of the injuries he suffered in the motor vehicle accident.
As a New Jersey injury attorney, I represented C.P. and later his family in what became a products liability case against the manufacturer of the tire.
Investigation by this law firm revealed that the tread of the tire had separated from the inner plies of the tire.
This firm hired an expert who had worked as an engineer in the tire industry. This expert examined the tire and concluded that the body of the tire had been contaminated by dirt or grease during the manufacturing process at the tire factory where it was made. This contamination had left the tire with a defect that gradually worsened leading to a separation of the tread and to C.P.'s catastrophic car accident and injuries.
The expert for the defendant tire manufacturer also examined the tire and gave the opinion that the tire had failed because it had been operated under inflated during its life. He concluded that under inflated operation had caused the tire to run hot and that heat weakened the tire. He also stated that the vehicle would not have rolled over had C.P.'s brother been a better driver.
When I took the deposition of the defense expert, the expert conceded that contamination during manufacture could have been a cause of the separation and the motor vehicle accident in which C.P. was severely injured.
The case settled without trial for $2 million.
About the Author
Edward Slaughter, Esquire is a Certified Civil Trial Attorney and a senior partner in the Accident and Injury Department of the law firm of Pellettieri, Rabstein & Altman. He can be reached at 609 520 0900 or visit http://www.pralaw.com
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