Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Products should meet the ordinary expectations of consumers. If a product is defective and dangerous, then the designer, manufacturer and/or seller can be held accountable for any injuries or deaths that result. There are a number of different types of product liability cases.

Defective in Design: In a design-defect case, the dangerous product is in the condition intended by the manufacturer, but the design itself is unsafe.

Defects in Manufacturing: In a manufacturing defect case, the product’s design was safe, but the way the product was actually manufactured did not comply with those designs. The result is an unsafe product.

Defective Warnings: Some products are highly useful but “unavoidably unsafe: because there is no way to manufacture the product in a safer way while retaining its useful characteristics. In those cases the manufacturers are required to warn the consumers about the potential dangers of their products. For example, many medicines are “unavoidably unsafe” because even if they work properly they produce side effects. In these cases, the manufacturer is liable whenever it fails to attach proper warnings and instructions regarding those side-effects.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP are well known for our success in handling products liability claims. In the past, our cases have involved a wide array of products, including defective factory and construction equipment, harmful drugs, defective home appliances and hazardous chemicals . In addition, we have handled medical device products liability claims. For over 40 years, we have litigated complex automobile defect, seatbelt and tread separation cases against large corporations. If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of a dangerous and defective product of any type, call us to discuss your rights.

Our Atlanta based attorneys have and are litigating cases against nursing homes involving almost unspeakable abuses of elderly and vulnerable patients. These civil suits help uncover abuses by nursing home and insurance companies, according to a new report by the American Association for Justice.

“Where regulatory and legislative bodies have been unable to cope with this distressing rise of neglect and abuse of our elderly, the civil justice system has stepped into the breach,” said the AAJ President, in a statement accompanying the release of the report, “Standing Up For Seniors: How the Civil Justice System Protects Elderly Americans.”

According to the report, the vast majority of the nursing facilities that house more than 1.5 million elderly Americans are owned by private corporate chains, making it difficult for consumers to hold them accountable for abuse.

The report also asserts that insurance companies are more likely to take advantage of older patients with practices like miscalculating mortality rates, denying claims and cutting off benefits for needed treatments.

The report outlines how, through litigation, trial attorneys across the country have uncovered evidence of corporate programs aimed at terminating seniors’ benefits as well as evidence of nursing home abuse and neglect.

The report warns that efforts to combat nursing home abuses through civil suits are hampered by the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in nursing home and insurance contracts.

Continue reading "Nursing Home and Insurance Company Abuse of Elderly and Disabled" »

The Associated Press reported this week that 37 year old Jimmy Roubles of Augusta died in a construction accident when a trench caved in on him while he and a co-worker were installing pipes six feet underground. The article did not indicate whether this man was married or whether he had children. If he left dependants, they will be entitled to Georgia “death benefits” under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act; although the benefits are pitiful and limited.

If Mr. Roubles was married and she is the sole dependant, she is entitled to 2/3rds of the average weekly wage that her husband made, up to a maximum of $500.00 per week. She is only entitled to received those checks on a weekly basis for no more than 400 weeks, not to exceed a total of $150,000.00. If she re-marries or cohabitates with someone, the weekly benefits will be suspended. In addition, the employer/insurer will have to pay his funeral bill but only up to $7,500.00. If he left dependent minor children, they will be entitled to share in the weekly benefits; however, there are lots of rules that apply to that situation.

Continue reading "On-The-Job Accident Results In Death Of Georgia Worker" »

Georgia injury lawyers know that motorcycle accidents often result in serious injuries and even death for the biker. Today WSBTV reported that a motorcyclist was severely injured as a result of a hit-and-run crash in Henry County. Justin Haynes, age 34, was struck at Fairview and East Atlanta Rd in Ellenwood by a female driving a black Toyota Highlander. According to police, the women stopped but then drove off.

Hit-and-run accidents are becoming more common in Atlanta. There is a 24 year old woman on trial this week who is accused of causing a collision which took the lives of several innocent people. In that case, the woman left the scene and was then assisted by her mother in attempting to cover it up.

Georgia law provides that if someone negligently injures or kills someone and there are aggravating circumstances involved, such as being intoxicated of leaving the scene and failing to render aid, the offending party may be liable for punitive damages.

Continue reading "Motorcycle Accident In Henry County Involves Hit-And-Run Driver" »

Outrageous surgical "errors" continue to maim and kill patients throughout Georgia and the United states despite requirements that hospitals and doctors abide by a standard set of procedures to prevent surgical mistakes.

These errors include operating on the wrong patient or the wrong body part.
This inexcusable problem is highlighted in a new study in the Archives of Surgery. The data was drawn from an insurance database in Colorado that included 27,370 self-reported incidents from 6,000 physicians from 2002 to mid-2008. Doctors in the insurance plan receive incentives for early reporting of adverse events.

In one case reported, a chest tube was inserted into the wrong lung, the healthy one, causing it to collapse, killing the patient. In other cases, surgeons removed a healthy ovary, operated on the wrong side of the brain, fused the wrong vertebrae and did procedures on the wrong eye, knee, foot, elbow and hand.

Surgeons reported performing 25 operations, including three prostatectomies, on the wrong patient, as well as 107 procedures on the wrong body part. The mix-ups often started in the internist’s office.

Past estimates suggested that such mistakes occurred once in every 110,000 procedures, but the paper’s lead author said the incidence might not be so rare, and might even have increased.

The lead author, a surgeon , described the findings as “shocking” and "unacceptable."

It is interesting that this finding, by a panel of surgeons, comes at a time during which doctors groups, hospitals, large insurers, and some politicians, are attempting to curb the rights of citizens to recover damages for even these outrageous events.

According to a recent CNBC report, Remington Model 700 rifles have a serious and deadly defect, that can cause the rifles to fire without pulling the trigger.

The danger is caused by a defective component in the trigger mechanism called the trigger connector. The system is known as the Walker Fire Control System and Remington is the only gun manufacturer which incorporates it in firearms.

The report revealed that the defect with the trigger connector is that is not bound to the actual trigger. As a result, when the trigger is pulled and the gun is fired, a gap is created between the trigger body and the connector. Dirt, debris, dried lubricant and other material then can become lodged in this gap, preventing the trigger connector from returning to a secure and reliable position after the gun is fired. This can cause a malfunction which can lead to a discharge when the trigger is not pulled.

Internal company documents revealed that Remington has known about the defective conditions since at least since 1979.

The company even created a Product Safety Subcommittee to evaluate the M700 and consumer complaints it had received. Remington made a decision not to recall the rifle because the defect was estimated only to affect 1 percent of the two million M700s that had been sold.

All center fire manufactured by Remington since March of 1948, with the exception of the Model 788, have the same design and are all susceptible to malfunction.
Despite its knowledge of the defect, Remington did not stop using the Walker Fire Control System in its bolt action rifles until 2007.

Unlike other consumer products, firearms are not subject to safety regulations. Firearms manufacturers have the option to voluntary issue recalls but cannot be forced to do so by governmental agencies.

Unfortunately, some manufacturers let their financial interests override the safety of firearm users. The conduct of Remington as disclosed by the report appears to be an example of this outrageous corporate behavior.

Women taking hormone treatment after menopause are already known to have an increased the risk of developing breast cancer.

Now, a groundbreaking study has established that hormone therapy also makes it more likely that the cancer will be advanced and deadly.

Women who took hormones and developed breast cancer were more likely to have cancerous lymph nodes, a sign of more advanced disease, and were more likely to die from the disease than were breast cancer patients who had never taken hormones.

The reasons for this increased risk were not apparent from the study. But, previous studies have found that hormone treatment can cause delays in diagnosis by increasing breast density, making tumors harder to see on mammograms. Delayed diagnosis may increase the risk of death.

There is also data that suggests hormones may feed the growth of some breast cancers or the blood vessels that tumors need to grow and spread.

The hormone replacement therapy studied was the most commonly prescribed hormone replacement pill, Prempro.

According to one of the authors of the study, which was recently published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, many doctors assume that women can safely take hormones for four or five years for menopause symptoms. The data refutes this assumption that the therapy is safe for any period time.

The study included continuing follow-ups with 12,788 women who were in the Women’s Health Initiative, a federally financed study that compared women taking hormones with a group taking placebos. The study was stopped in 2002, three years ahead of schedule, because researchers found that the hormones were causing small but significant increases in the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, strokes and blood clots in the lungs.

The 2002 study had a huge impact. Before it was published there was a belief in the medical community that hormone therapy would reduce women’s risk of heart disease and generally keep them youthful and healthy.

Estimates were that before the 2002 study, six million American women had been taking hormones, but the number quickly fell by about half. The breast cancer rate also began to fall significantly, and many researchers attribute that to the decrease in hormone therapy.

The new study increased the average follow-up time to 11 years from the original 5.6 years. It is the first report from the Women’s Health Initiative that includes death rates from breast cancer related to hormone use.

The researchers found small but significant increases in several harmful effects in women who took the hormones. As the study previously showed, women taking hormones are more likely to develop invasive breast cancer. Their rate of the disease was 0.42 percent per year, compared with 0.34 percent per year in the placebo group.
Among women with breast cancer, those who took hormones were more likely to have cancerous lymph nodes, a sign of more advanced disease — 23.7 percent, versus 16.2 percent in the placebo group.

More women who took hormones died from breast cancer — 0.03 percent per year, versus 0.01 percent per year in the placebo group. That translates to 2.6 deaths per 10,000 women per year among those taking hormones, twice the 1.3 deaths per 10,000 in the placebo group.

Among women who had breast cancer, those who took hormones also had a higher death rate from other causes — 0.05 percent per year, versus 0.03 percent per year. In other words, there were 5.3 versus 3.4 deaths per 10,000 women per year — 1.9 extra deaths in hormone users.

Not unexpectedly, Pfizer, which makes Prempro, issued a statement saying it took the new findings seriously, but questioned the mortality figures.

Potentially fatal safety risks have resulted in Chrysler and Volvo recalling a total of 36,000 vehicles.

Chrysler's recall affects about 26,000 cars and pickup trucks that have power steering hoses that can develop leaks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that steering fluid hoses can separate at the crimped end and leak fluid on the engine, potentially causing a fire.

Chrysler has announced that it is not aware of any fires or injuries because of the problem, which was discovered by the company that supplies the hose to Chrysler.

The recall affects some 2010 models of the Chrysler 300 and Sebring, the Dodge Avenger, Charger, Challenger and Journey, and some 2011 Dodge Ram pickups, built between June 24 and Aug. 30. Chrysler announced it will notify all owners of the affected cars and trucks sometime this is month.

Chrysler has set up a toll free number for consumers at (800) 853-1403.

The Volvo recall affects nearly 10,000 vehicles to fix front air bag systems that may not deploy in a crash.

The recall includes certain S80 sedans and XC70 crossover vehicles from the 2010-2011 model year and model year 2010 V70 wagons.

Volvo said there could be a problem with a wiring connector in the air bag system that might prevent the front air bag from protecting the driver in a crash.

Volvo also said the vehicles will be fixed free of charge, and the recall is expected to begin in late October.

Like Chrysler, Volvo has set up a toll free number for consumers.
Owners may contact Volvo at (800) 458-1552.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have seen some horrible burn injuries over the years which have resulted from automobile accidents, truck accidents, use of dangerous products and on-the-job accidents. There are few injuries more serious than burns. Burns can all too often be fatal. Even for those who survive, the degree of pain that accompanies a burn is hard to imagine. The debridement of the dead skin, necessary to prevent infection, is one of the most painful treatments in all of medicine. On top of that, burns leave serious scars that last a lifetime and often cause physical restrictions which affect the quality of life.

There are many types of burns, including electrical burns, chemical burns, full thickness burns, inhalation burns and burn caused by fire or scalding liquids. As a former claims supervisor with a major insurance carrier, I recall several terrible workers compensation injuries. One involved an explosion inside the cargo trailer of a tractor-trailer which was caused by a propane powered forklift which was leaking gas. Another case involved a textile mill employee who was scalded to death when he accidently opened a large kettle in which yarn was being dyed. This accident was caused by the failure of a safety device to operate properly. In both cases, the families of the victims collected workers compensation death benefits but also filed wrongful death lawsuits against negligent third parties.

For burn victims, proper and timely medical treatment is important, but so is timely and competent legal representation. The sooner an injury victim has legal representation, the better the odds that his/her rights will be protected.

Continue reading "Burn Injuries" »

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have seen many serious injuries and wrongful death caused by dangerous products. Last week the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in Washington, announced that Graco, a company that specializes in making baby related merchandise, is recalling about 2 million strollers after receiving reports that four infants died in the strollers. They said the four infants became trapped inside the strollers and were strangled. The deaths occurred between 2003 and 2005. According to the announcement, the strollers being recalled are older versions of the Graco Quattro Tour and MetroLite strollers and travel systems, all made before 2007 and distributed by Graco Children’s Products Inc. of Atlanta.

According to the CPSC, if babies are not strapped into the strollers properly, they can slide through the opening between the stroller tray and bottom of the seat - where they can get stuck and be strangled. The recalled strollers were made before the development in 2008 of a voluntary standard that requires a larger troller opening between the stroller’s tray and seat bottom in order to prevent entrapment and strangulation.

Continue reading "Graco Stroller Recall-Four Deaths Reported" »

When someone is injured on-the-job under Georgia law they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits will provide minimal payments for lost wages as well as reimbursement of any medical expenses arising out of the on-the-job injury. In exchange for these statutory benefits the employee may never sue the employer responsible for the on-the-job injury. In short, even if an employer is negligent and/or creates an unsafe situation for an employee, the employer cannot be sued, instead as a tradeoff for not being sued, the employer must provide workers’ compensation benefits which provides lost wage benefits and the reimbursement of medical expenses.

Even though employers in Georgia have immunity from lawsuits for negligence which results in injuries to employees, nonetheless, if a third party is involved in such negligence, under certain circumstances, that third party may be liable for the employee’s injuries.

A hypothetical might illustrate the point we make here. If an employee of a warehouse company is injured by a trucker who is backing his truck into the dock and inadvertently runs over the warehouse employee, even though the warehouse employee has been injured on-the-job, they have not only a workers’ compensation claim against their warehouse employer but they also have a third party liability claim against the trucking company employee that caused their injury. Thus, in some limited circumstances, depending upon the unique facts involved, an injured employee may have not only a workers’ compensation claim against their employer but also a claim against a third party. This can be important because workers’ compensation benefits are quite limited, particularly with respect to lost pay and there is no compensation under the workers’ compensation statutory scheme for pain and suffering at all. In cases where the injuries are very serious, there should be compensation for pain and suffering and thus a third party claim may be one avenue by which the injured employee can obtain some measure of justice for these damages.

In any serious on-the-job injury, the injured victim should consult with counsel to determine their rights to workers’ compensation benefits. They should also explore the possibility of whether a third party liability claim is present. If a third party is involved in the negligent act which results in the injury, there may be an additional avenue available for relief to the victim by way of liability insurance as opposed to the limited workers’ compensation benefits currently available under Georgia law.

As we have blogged about on many occasions in the past, there are many unfortunate situations where third party innocent victims become involved in reckless and dangerous police chases. If the police are chasing a juvenile, a traffic offender or some other non-violent offender and while traveling at high speeds continues to chase the suspect under such dangerous conditions that they crash into an innocent third party, there should be legal liability for a reckless disregard of proper police procedure in this context. Indeed, under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-6 specifies that where there is evidence of a reckless disregard of proper police procedure in the decision to either initiate or continue a high speed pursuit, such reckless disregard can be the basis of liability against the police if an innocent third party is injured due to such recklessness. Notwithstanding the statute, it is commonplace in any case brought by an innocent victim against the police for the government entity involved to assert sovereign immunity as a defense.

This issue was decided long ago by the Georgia Supreme Court in a case called Cameron v. Lang. In that case the Georgia Supreme Court held that where a plaintiff proved that there was insurance coverage for the incident and also had proof that there was a reckless disregard of proper police procedure, then in that event, sovereign immunity would be waived. This is because Georgia law has long held that where there is insurance coverage applicable to the negligent use of a motor vehicle, sovereign immunity is waived for counties and municipalities.

The argument now being advanced by police departments is that “reckless disregard of proper police procedure” is not the same as “negligent” use of a vehicle. This is a specious argument that has been rejected by most courts that face it but nonetheless the argument continues to be made. Moreover, many governmental entities do not carry any insurance and even though there is a statute which specifies that all governmental entities must have certain minimum amounts of self insurance coverage up to certain statutory limits, entities

Continue reading "Police Chase Cases And Sovereign Immunity" »

In the late 70's and early 80's while I was employed in the Georgia claims department of a major insurance company, we had a very significant number of workers compensation death cases. Part of the reason was that the company wrote alot of assigned risk business but another reason was that the economy was doing well. Construction was booming and there were lots of jobs, especially construction jobs. Recently released statistics demonstrate that this is not the case now..

In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries reported that in 2009 there were 96 workplace deaths in Georgia compared to 182 workplace deaths in 2008--- a 47% decline in just one year.

Specifically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries broke down the causes of the Georgia on-the-job deaths as follows: 3 from fires or explosions; 14 from assaults or violent acts; 11 from contact with objects or equipment; 11 from falls; 10 from exposure to harmful substances or environments; and 47 related to transportation incidents.

Continue reading "On-The-Job Deaths Decreased 47% In 2009" »

Under Georgia law, employers are vicariously liable for the acts of the employees provided such acts are performed within the scope of their employment. If an employee is working on behalf of an employer and is acting within the scope of his or her duties, an employer will be liable if the employee negligently injuries a third party. The reasons for such liability are due to the fact that the injury arose out of and was caused by the performance of duties being performed on behalf of the employer. Under such circumstances, both the employer and employee are legally liable to the injured third party.
Disputes often arise in cases where there is some question whether the employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment. Such questions may arise in the context of an employee traveling to and from work where they may be performing an errand for their employer, attending a special meeting or otherwise performing some function on behalf of their employer even though technically not “on the job.” Such cases are always factually unique and each case must be decided based on an analysis of the facts as it pertains to the seminal legal question, that being whether the employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time of the complained of injury.

For any person injured in an accident or as a result of any misconduct or negligence of a third party, one must always analyze whether there is the possibility of a claim against the person’s employer. We have handled many cases in the past where initially it appeared that the claim could only be brought against the individual tortfeasor only to discover through investigations that the person who negligently caused the injury was, in fact, working on behalf of a third party at the time of the incident. As in any important legal case, investigation of the facts as close to the time of the injury is imperative if the rights of the victim are to be protected.

In a case where an innocent victim is victimized by the negligence of a third party, whether it be as a result of the negligent acts of a truck driver or due to medical malpractice committed by a doctor, a question often arises: Should a claimant in such a case consider mediation as a way of resolving their claims against the negligent defendant? Experience indicates that mediation is successful approximately eighty percent (80%) of the time so logic would dictate that all serious personal injury claimants should consider mediation as an alternative to litigation.

Over the years, we have been involved in hundreds of mediations here at our firm. Our experience bears out that approximately eighty percent (80%) of all cases submitted to mediation do settle. Thus, we do recommend that our clients seriously consider attending a mediation prior to proceeding to a jury trial. Jury trials are fraught with uncertainty and reasonable minds many times can differ over what would be a fair and just result in any given case. At mediation, the parties deciding the dispute are the parties themselves as opposed to twelve (12) lay persons who are strangers to the dispute. There are advantages for the parties to settle amongst themselves because not only does this save the time and expense of a jury trial, the parties themselves are usually much more familiar with the facts than would be twelve (12) lay persons sitting in a jury box. Thus, as a general proposition, we recommend that all of our clients consider mediation as a possible way to resolve a personal injury case against a negligent third party. As stated, it does not matter whether the case involves medical malpractice, products liability, wrongful death, a trucking accident, a car accident or any other serious injury tort case. As long as the parties are voluntarily willing to submit their claims to a mediation, there is always the possibility of a settlement, which if the terms of the settlement are fair and just, can be preferable to proceeding to trial. Of course, we continue to advocate that the best way to get the best result for any client is to be prepared to present the case to a jury so that all parties at the mediation will know that counsel is prepared to obtain a just result for his/her client unless the case is settled for a reasonable sum at mediation.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented victims of dangerous products for over 40 years. These products which range from defective automobiles to defective humidifiers can cause serious injury or even death if they malfunction after being purchased by the innocent consumer.

Just last week, General Motors recalled over 4000 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles because of power steering problems. According to the company, power steering fluid could leak, causing a fire in the engine compartment. All of these cars were manufactured in 2009.

Although this may not seem like a significant problem, it could potentially be very dangerous if the vehicle were to catch on fire after being parked in a home garage or carport. Ford Motor Company found out they had significant exposure when Ford F series trucks with defective cruise control switches caused such fires. Those fires lead to a recall by Ford.

Continue reading "Cadillac Recalls SRX Vehicles" »

In a case where an injured party brings a claim against a person who caused them injury and that person’s employer, a jury question is often present as to whether the negligent employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time they inflicted the injury upon the innocent third party victim. As long as a disputed issue of material fact exists, only juries can determine whether an employee was acting within the scope of their employment and/or acting solely for personal reasons. Under Georgia law, while courts are free to decide cases where there is no disputed issue of material fact on this question, as long as there are facts from which a jury could determine that an employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment on behalf of an employer, only a jury can decide whether the employer should be held legally liable for the damages inflicted by the negligent employee.

In a medical malpractice case, if the doctor involved is working on behalf his employer then in that event, the employer would be liable. If the doctor is coming home from an office function, and injures someone on his or her way home, the question arises as to whether this was a special office function the doctor was required to attend and/or whether there are any other disputed facts which would indicate that the doctor/employee was still acting within the scope of his employment and on behalf of his employer. Again, these cases are factually unique. The issues must be resolved by a jury except in cases where it is plan and palpable that the employee’s conduct was in no way connected to his or her employment.

Unless there is no dispute about the facts or unless it is clear that an employee’s conduct has nothing to do with their employment, Georgia juries will have to decide whether an employer will be liable for the tortious facts of an employee. Legal instructions to the jury will always provide that an employer should be held liable for acts committed by employees provided such employees were acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the complained of injury.

Fisher-Price announced a recall of more than 10 million tricycles, toys and high chairs which present dangers to children and infants.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that the tricycles and high chairs were blamed for children's injuries. In the recall of about 7 million Fisher-Price Trikes and Tough Trikes toddler tricycles, the agency is aware of 10 reports of children being hurt. Six of them required medical attention.

The trikes have a protruding plastic ignition key near the seat that children can strike, sit on or fall on, leading to injuries that the commission said can include genital bleeding.

Fisher-Price is also recalling more than 1 million Healthy Care, Easy Clean and Close to Me High Chairs, after 14 reports of problems. The pegs on the back of the high chairs can be used to store the tray, but children can fall on them, resulting in cuts and other injuries. Seven children required stitches, according to the CPSC.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum took manufacturers to task for not doing more to build safety into their products before they reach store shelves. But she also offered praise for Fisher-Price for agreeing to the recalls and offering free repairs or replacement.

The two other Fisher-Price recalls were for more than 2.8 million Baby Playzone Crawl & Cruise Playground toys, Baby Playzone Crawl & Slide Arcade toys, Baby Gymtastics Play Wall toys, Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Aquarium toys, 1-2-3 Tetherball toys and Bat & Score Goal toys.

The air valve of the inflatable ball on the toys can come off and pose a choking hazard to children. The CPSC said there were more than 50 reports of the valves coming off the balls.

Georgia injury lawyers often see car accidents and truck accidents caused by tire failure. A tire failure can also be the precipitating event in a vehicle rollover case. The causes of these tire failures vary but include manufacturing defects, road hazards and failure to keep the tire properly inflated.

In any motor vehicle crash where a tire failure is suspected, it is crucial to preserve the vehicle and especially the tires and rims so that they can be inspected by experts. Georgia injury lawyers know experts who can timely inspect and evaluate the evidence and who can testify at trial, if necessary.

Tire and Wheel defects include each of the following:

• Tire Tread Separations
A tread separation refers to the separation of the tread from the carcass of the tire. This separation usually occurs between the two steel belts and is one of the most common modes of tire failure.

• Tire Sidewall Failures
A sidewall failure, also known as a blowout, often involves a hole in the sidewall. These generally occur while a tire is being used on a vehicle when the tire is underinflated. Sidewalls may also undergo a “zipper failure in which the sidewall bursts or explodes during the inflation process. The rupture pattern usually resembles an open zipper. In a zipper failure, there are no visual signs or indicators that the tire may fail during normal servicing.

• Tire Bead Failures
A bead failure involves the breakage of the bead, the part of the tire that contacts the wheel rim. This type of failure occurs during the mounting of a tire on a rim when the bead becomes hung up on the rim, creating huge stress on the entire bead. When the bead fractures, a low pressure explosion occurs, turning the tire and rim into high velocity projectiles which almost always result in serious injury or death. Tire bead failures are most frequent in the spacesaver” spares.

• Aged Tires
Tires do not have an infinite shelf life. Tires may fail due to ozone cracking, even where there is significant useable tread left on the tire. Ozone cracking appears as small cracks or fissures on the surface of the tire rubber. Aging tires increase the likelihood of a tire tread separation or tire sidewall failure.

Continue reading "Tire Failures Are The Cause Of Many Of Georgia's Automobile and Truck Accidents" »