Tire Blowout Accident Attorneys

Mobile and Baldwin County, Alabama

If you have been driving a car and had a severe blowout on the highway, you know how out-of-control it can make your vehicle. Once a blowout occurs on a semi truck, there may be nothing the 18-wheeler driver can do to prevent an accident. However, before the blowout, there may be many things that might have been done to keep the blowout from happening.

Defective Tires

Tread separation is a common cause of blowouts, hitting tires which appear to be in good condition. If the steel and rubber in a steel-belted radial tire are not properly bound together, they will separate, tearing the tire apart. Unfortunately, tread separation occurs mostly at high speeds an in hot weather, such as during the summer driving season.

The largest recall of tires for tread separation occurred in 2000, affecting tires used on SUVs, but other recalls have occurred, including tires for SUVs, RVs, and large passenger vans.

Rotten Spares

Rubber tires degrade over time under exposure to air and sun, even when not in use. Spare tires, often appearing fine but actually several years old, can fail unexpectedly. When tires are replaced due to wear, the spare is often skipped as a cost-saving measure, leading to spare tires much older than all other tires on the vehicle, tires that can blow out.

Because tires are not given a straightforward date stamp, but, rather, an age code unreadable to most drivers, a driver may not know how old the spare is when putting it on the vehicle. Or s/he may know, but because of the pressure of an unrealistic schedule, decides to use the spare at hand, rather than lose more time waiting for a replacement.

Misused Tires

Sometimes vehicles are installed with tires that are entirely inappropriate for the weight and size and speed of the vehicle. Under these conditions, a new tire can fail suddenly and unexpectedly.

The wrong tire may be put on simply out of negligence or ignorance of the mistake. Or it can be used as a cost-saving measure because it is cheaper. Or it can be used because it is on-hand and trying to procure the right tire can hurt the delivery schedule for the shipping company.

Under-/overinflated Tires

Tires are also rated with a specific inflation pressure. Overinflation of tires, often a quick-and-dirty fix for an Overloaded Truck, can lead to a tire blowout from internal pressure. Underinflated tires will flex, putting extra pressure on the sidewalls of the tire, which can then have a catastrophic failure.

All of these causes for blowouts are obviously the result of someone's negligence, whether of the tire manufacturer, the driver, the mechanic, or the trucking company. If you or someone close to you has suffered a serious injury as a result of a tire blowout accident, call or email our accident attorneys in Mobile and Baldwin, Alabama.