A jury has issued a verdict recommending that a car dealership pay $14,465,864 to the three young children of Casey and Melanie Barber following couple's California wrongful deaths. The Barbers were killed in a car accident in 2006 when tire tread separation caused Casey to lose control of his Ford E350 Sportsmobile van. Their three sons were ages 3, 5, and 8 at the time.
The defendant in the California rollover crash is Mossy Ford. Other defendants in the California tire tread separation case settled with the plaintiffs for $8,300,000 prior to the wrongful death trial.
The plaintiffs' tire blowout attorneys contend that the dealership performed a faulty repair on the vehicle prior to the deadly accident. They claim that the tires were so damaged that the dealership should not have attempted to repair it. Instead, they argued that the tire should have been taken out of service.
Per the terms of the post-verdict settlement, Mossy Ford has consented to start following industry guidelines regarding tire repair practices. It has also agreed to put into place a training program so that its technicians can receive better training about safe tire repair.
Defective Tires
Tires that are defective, aged, or worn can cause serious Orange County, California car accidents. A tire blowout or tire tread separation can cause a driver to lose control of an auto, which can lead to a rollover accident or a collision with other vehicles or a pedestrian. Tire defects can occur during the design process or while the tire is being manufactured. Inadequate materials, manufacturing errors, the rush to generate quantity over quality tires, and tires that become worn from use are some of the reason why a tire blow out or tread separation accident might happen.
Jury Recommends $14M In Ford Rollover Case, 10News, January 11, 2011
Jury awards $14.4 million in wrongful-death lawsuit, Sign on San Diego, January 11, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Tire Defects, Safercar.gov
