Glendale Defective Tire Claim Lawyers | Phillips Law Group

If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident or suffered property damage caused by a defective tire, you may be eligible for financial compensation. At Phillips Law Group, we have been providing legal counsel to injury victims throughout Arizona for many years and have helped recover millions in compensation ”“ including a $4 million dollar settlement on behalf of a client who passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident caused by a defective tire.

Our Glendale defective tire attorneys may be able to help you too. We offer free consultations and there are no upfront costs for our legal services. You only pay us if we are able to recover compensation for you.

Give us a call at 1-800-706-3000 to get started. We can be reached anytime, 24/7.

Am I Eligible to Take Legal Action?

If you have been injured in an accident caused by a defective tire, you may be able to take legal action against the seller or manufacturer for damages. If a loved one was killed in an accident caused by a faulty tire, family members may be able to file a wrongful death claim to seek compensation on his or her behalf.

It is recommended that you discuss your situation with a knowledgeable attorney who can determine if you may have the basis for a case. A product liability action is generally based on one of two legal theories: negligence or strict liability. Our attorneys can determine if one may apply to your situation.

Strict Liability

If you were injured in an accident caused by a tire that multiple drivers had complained about as defective, there could be a problem with the overall design of the tire. If this is the case, your attorney may be able to apply the legal theory of strict liability.

However, your attorney must establish four things:

• The claim is against a manufacturer whose business it is to regularly sell or rent the tires in question.
• The product had an unreasonably dangerous defect that injured you.
• The defect caused injury while being used in the way it was intended.
• The product had not been substantially changed from its original condition when it was sold.

Negligence

Under this legal theory, if an accident is caused by someone else’s negligence, they may be liable for any injuries and damages done to another. In a personal injury lawsuit, the other party’s actions are not considered negligent unless four elements can be proven. These include:

• Duty of care ”“ The other party owed you a duty of care. For instance, the manufacturer had a legal obligation to ensure that the tires being sold to consumers were safe and effective to use.
• Breach of duty of care ”“ The other party breached the duty of care by failing to act as a reasonable person would under similar conditions. For instance, the manufacturer failed to warn consumers of a known defect in certain tire models that causes tread separation, which led to accidents and injuries.
• Link to injuries ”“ The other party’s actions directly caused your injury. For example, your attorney may need to prove that the manufacturer making the tires used rubber that was old and dry and if the manufacturer had not done that, the victim would have been uninjured.
• Existence of damages ”“ The other party’s actions also resulted in measurable damages, such as expenses for medical treatments and repair bills for property damage.

Our Glendale defective tire lawyers are prepared to review your accident to determine if one of the legal theories above may apply. If we find you have a valid case, we are ready to launch a detailed investigation to gather the evidence necessary to help determine liability and prove negligence. We have decades of combined experience helping injury victims obtain fair compensation and have detailed knowledge of Arizona’s product liability laws.

Schedule your free consultation to learn more about your legal options. 1-800-706-3000 .

What is the Value of My Case?

This is often one of the first questions we are asked when injury victims meet with us. Each case is different from the next so the damages you can pursue, and their value, will depend on your particular circumstances. If we represent you, we can discuss the various forms of compensation that may be available to you.

You may be eligible to recover economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages generally have a determined dollar value. One of the most common examples of economic damages is medical expenses. These are costs related to treating your injuries and include hospital bills, emergency medical care, medications, medical supplies, and any future medical care needed.

Other forms of economic damages include:

• Lost income
• Lost earning potential
• Property damage

Non-economic damages can be more difficult to calculate because they do not have a specific dollar value. These are damages related to the physical and emotional effects of your injuries and could include:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Loss of consortium

Deadline for Filing Defective Tire Claims

The deadline to file a defective tire claim is generally two years from the date the injury happened. If you fail to file before the deadline passes, your case may be thrown out of court and you will be unable to seek compensation for your injury through a lawsuit.

However, as each case is unique, you may be required to file before this deadline or, under the state’s discovery rule, you may be eligible to file after the deadline. The deadline can be extended under the discovery rule if you were not aware of the injury or your right to take legal action and you could not have reasonably discovered these things until sometime after they happened.

Determining the deadlines that apply to a defective tire claim can be very difficult. Our experienced Glendale defective tire attorneys know how to review a situation to determine the statute of limitations that may apply. This is one of the many benefits of having qualified legal representation for an injury claim. An attorney can help guide you through the entire claims process.

Causes and Types of Tire Defects

There are many different types of tire defects. The most common include tread separating from the tire and weak points in a tire that causes a blowout. Faulty tires can be caused by design defects or defects in the manufacturing process.

Tread Separation

When a tire is being made, the tread is the last thing applied and consists of patterns of grooves that allow the tire to grip the road. These grooves allow water to be expelled and help prevent a vehicle from hydroplaning on a wet surface.

If the tread begins to separate from the rest of the tire, the driver can lose control of the vehicle. This can happen even if the tire does not lose pressure. The likelihood of serious injury or death increases when an SUV or large truck is involved because of these vehicles’ higher center of gravity.

Tread separation usually occurs sometime during the manufacturing process or design process with new tires. New tires could have a higher risk of tread separation for various reasons, from using rubber that is too old and dry to missing warning signs during final inspection.

Blowouts

When a tire loses its tread and there is too much pressure, a blowout can happen. The sudden loss of air pressure can make it very difficult for a driver to maintain control of the vehicle, especially at high speeds. This may cause the vehicle to turn sideways and result in a rollover accident. Blowouts can happen due to mistakes in tire manufacturing, defects in the design, poor repairs and neglected maintenance.

Other factors that can contribute to tire blowouts include:

If you have a case and decide to proceed, the manufacturer may try to claim the tire blew out because of something you did or did not do. This is one of the reasons it is so important to seek experienced legal representation. Our Glendale defective tire lawyers can help level the playing field against large corporations who will use many tactics to attempt to avoid liability.

Steps to Take After a Tire Blowout

If a tire blows out while you are driving, it can be extremely dangerous. Drivers often have trouble keeping control of their vehicles and this increases the risk of a dangerous crash. Even if a driver does not swerve into another vehicle, he or she could veer off-road and crash into a tree, road sign or another fixed object.

There are some things you can do once a blowout happens to try to avoid a crash. The vehicle may pull in the direction of the blown tire, and if the tire is in the front, you may feel it in the steering wheel. Take a firm grip on the wheel to try to maintain control of your vehicle. Do not slam on the brakes, slowly apply them. Otherwise you may be more likely to lose control.

You should also put on your turn signal so you can tell other drivers you need to pull over. Once the path is clear, move to the side of the road and out of the flow of traffic. Once you come to a stop, you should turn the vehicle off and flip on your hazard lights to alert other drivers to help prevent another accident.

If it is safe to do so, get out and take pictures of your vehicle and any injuries you suffered. This can be powerful evidence if you eventually pursue an injury claim.

It is also important to contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss what happened and learn if you may be eligible to pursue compensation.

Speak with A Glendale Defective Tire Lawyer Today

The Glendale defective tire lawyers at Phillips Law Group are ready to fight for fair compensation on your behalf. For more than two decades, our lawyers have been providing legal counsel to Arizona residents, including those injured by defective products. Your consultation with us is completely free of charge. There are no upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs for our legal services. We get paid only if you recover compensation.

You can get in touch with our firm 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are here to assist you during this difficult time.

Call us today at 1-800-706-3000 or fill out our free online form.