Defective Tires & Seatbelts

Our office received an email from Thomas J. Methvin, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. of Montgomery, AL concerning potential defective tires and seatbelts. See the email below:

We have been litigating in two areas lately that may be of interest to you; seat belt failures in heavy trucks and RV tire defects.

Between 2002 and 2004, seatbelt manufacturer Indiana Mills and Manufacturing, Inc. (IMMI) manufactured and sold defective seatbelt buckles for use in heavy trucks and school buses. The buckles (known as the “H2” buckle) suffer from an internal design defect that causes them to fail to latch. The wearer may not notice that the buckle is not latched. IMMI acknowledged the failure and in 2004 redesigned the H2 buckles; however the defective buckles have not been recalled. As a result, thousands of heavy truck drivers are at risk of death or serious injury if their older model H2 buckles fail in a collision. Because the driver will likely be ejected, an investigating officer will probably conclude that the driver was not wearing his seatbelt. We uncovered and developed this defect and have numerous documents and depositions on this issue.

We have also uncovered another major design defect. It deals with Goodyear RV tires, Model #G159 275/70 22.5. This tire is not safe or appropriate for use on RV’s. RV manufacturers utilized this tire on several of their RV models manufactured between the mid 1990’s and approximately 2004. This Goodyear RV tire has a history of de-treads and failures, some of which have led to serious injury and death. Goodyear and some of the RV manufacturers have initiated limited recalls and tire replacement programs for the G159. We have taken several depositions dealing with this and have numerous documents on this matter. There are thousand’s of RV’s in use today equipped with this dangerous tire.

For more information please contact Rick Morrison at rick.morrison@beasleyallen.com.