Tire Blowouts

Who Is Liable for a Truck Tire Blowout?

When a truck tire shreds, tears, or explodes, many different parties could be liable. If the tire was defective, the manufacturer could be responsible. If the truck’s cargo exceeded the tire’s listed weight capacity, the party responsible for loading the cargo could be at fault. If the trucking company pressured its drivers to meet unrealistic quotas and turned a blind eye to overloaded cargo, it could be partially or entirely liable for the accident.

At the Law Offices of Willie D. Powells III & Associates PLLC, we thoroughly investigate each claim to determine whether any of the following parties are partly or wholly liable:

• The tire manufacturer: Most truck tire blowouts are the result of defective tires. Some examples include poorly designed tires that separate or shred at higher speeds, tires with improper PSI ratings, and tires that wear out and weaken too quickly.
• The trucking company: The trucking company could be liable for an accident caused by a tire blowout if it failed to conduct routine vehicle inspections or complete proper truck maintenance and/or repairs. It could also be liable if it failed to replace recalled tires.
• The truck driver: Speeding can add excess stress on truck tires that already must carry extremely heavy loads. Additionally, a distracted truck driver may fail to see hazards on the roadway, potentially leading to a tire blowout.
• The party responsible for loading cargo: Overloaded and improperly loaded cargo is one of the leading causes of truck tire blowouts. Excess weight can put additional strain on truck tires, leading to blowouts, shredding, and other problems.
• A municipal entity: Hazardous roadways, including those with potholes, can increase the risk of a truck tire blowout. If a municipal agency or another entity failed to adequately maintain or repair the roadway, they could be liable for your accident.

How Do Tire Blowouts Cause Truck Accidents?

Truck tire blowouts are extremely serious, often leading to devastating or even deadly accidents.

Some examples include:

• Loss of vehicle control: The force of a tire blowout can easily cause the truck driver to lose control of the vehicle. The force of the explosion can cause the tractor and/or trailer to become dangerously unstable, and the driver may swerve or overcompensate. This can result in a wide variety of truck accidents, including jackknifing, fishtailing, and rollovers.
• Flying tire debris: Everyone has seen scraps of tire on highways and roads. Often left behind by tire blowouts, these scraps can cause serious damage to vehicles and may even result in accidents when they are propelled through the air due to the force of an explosion. In addition to other motorists, pedestrians are at risk of serious injury and death from flying tire debris.
• Loose cargo: When a truck tire explodes, shreds, or tears, the force of the incident can result in cargo becoming loose—especially if it wasn’t properly secured to begin with. This can lead to cargo, hazardous materials, flammable items, and other debris spilling onto the roadway, putting other motorists at risk.

The sound of a tire exploding is incredibly loud and may frighten other drivers. Sometimes, the secondary impact of a tire blowout—other motorists panicking—can cause serious or even deadly accidents. When this is the case, multiple parties could be liable. The driver who panicked may be mostly responsible for the crash, but the tire manufacturer, trucking company, truck driver, or another third party could also share some of the blame.