18-Wheeler Truck Accidents Caused by Tire Failure or Blow Outs

Motorists are on the road with 18-wheelers and other commercial trucks every day. We see them so often that we rarely give them a second thought or consider the danger they can mean to us on the road.

Accidents between motorists and 18-wheelers happen often as both parties travel Texas highways, and a common cause of these accidents are tire blow outs or delamination. At the risk of stating the obvious, tires are the only thing between the 80,000 pound truck and the road itself, and so any failure of the tire to do its job will result in disaster.

Questions Answered by This Article:

• What causes tire blow out or tire failure?
• What is tire delamination?
• How can an attorney help me with my accident?

When drivers are injured due to a semi-truck's tire blowout, determining the party responsible for the injuries can be difficult. Obviously, the trucking company that owns the 18-wheeler and employs the driver is likely a suspect. If they were negligent in the installation or maintenance of the tires, the company may well be responsible for any harms that result. However, the manufacturer of the commercial truck's delaminated tire may be responsible as well if the tire was defective. Regardless, an experienced truck accident lawyer will know how to uncover who's actually responsible.

Causes of Tire Blowouts and Delamination.

Most motorists have experienced, or at least witnessed, a car tire blowout. At low speeds, these occurrences can be mere inconveniences, rather than disasters. Nonetheless, steering and maintaining control of a car become all but impossible at higher rates of speed, making accidents almost unavoidable, especially for a vehicle as large as a tractor-trailer.

Possible causes for tire blowouts, include:

• Punctures to the tire
• Improper inflation
• Poor maintenance
• Using refurbished tires that are susceptible to blow outs
• Tire delamination

Accidents from Tire Delamination

Tire delamination happens when the tread or rubber separates from the tire causing the tire to blow out or deflate suddenly. This can cause injury to motorists in many ways:

• The truck driver could lose control of the truck and cause an accident
• During an accident, debris from the delaminated tire can strike a motorist
• The debris from the delaminated tire can end up in the roadway and create an obstruction that causes an accident.

After an 18-wheeler has experienced a tire blowout or delamination, both the truck driver and motorists on the road are in danger. Because the tire delamination typically causes a sudden change in stability to the vehicle, it is very difficult for the truck driver to maintain control of the 18-wheeler after this has happened. Often the motorist cannot get out of the path of the 18-wheeler and the 18-wheeler driver is unable to steer the truck to avoid hitting the motorist.

Motorist can also be injured if the 18-wheeler's tire delaminates and rubber from the defective tire flies off and strikes a car. Often, when a tire blows out or delaminates, pieces of the tire become airborne when the driver frantically tries to maneuver the 18-wheeler to a safe location or out of the flow of traffic. These airborne pieces of rubber can be large, sharp, and hot from the friction of the road. Tragically, they can injure a motorist or pedestrian if they are struck by the flying rubber.

Making matters worse, when an 18-wheeler's tire delaminates, a piece of the ruined tire can be left in harm's way. When motorists unwittingly strike the tire's debris, serious accidents happen. Remember, the tires that go on tractor trailers, tanker trucks, and other commercial vehicles are significantly much larger and made of much more dense materials than standard tires found on passenger vehicles--a piece of one of these large truck tires on the roadway can be a deadly hazard to other motorists.

Tire delamination, unlike other causes of blowouts, is often caused by a defect in the design or manufacture of the tire. When this happens, the bottom layer of the tire (made up of steel belts and tread) separates from the other layers and causes the defective tire to blowout or suddenly deflate. Determining exactly why the tire delaminated and lost its tread will be necessary in order to potentially hold the manufacturer responsible for your accident. Our attorneys employ top investigators with industry experience to help us accomplish this task. If the investigation finds that the delamination resulted from a defective design or manufacture of the tire, then you have a potentially strong products liability claim against the tire company.

• Briefly, products liability claims in this context are lawsuits that allege the tire manufacturer either placed an unreasonably dangerous tire on the market, or, that something happened in the design or manufacture of the tire that caused the tire to fail on the road. These cases require the help of someone with specialized expertise, able to explain to a jury that the tire was some kind of ticking time bomb, and that the jury should award victims significant compensation for what was essentially an engineering mistake that had terrible consequences. You can learn more about these cases here at our Comprehensive Guide to Products Liability Law.

How can an attorney help?

Tire delamination and blowouts on 18-wheelers can cause deadly accidents. If you or a loved one was hurt or killed and you suspect there could have been a faulty tire at issue, you need the right attorneys with the right investigative team to successfully hold those responsible to account. To ensure all negligent parties are brought to justice, we will conduct an extensive investigation into whether any defects can be found in the tire, whether the 18-wheeler driver or his employer was negligent, or if there were any additional parties at fault. Our experienced attorneys at Grossman Law Offices know the value a thorough investigation can have for you, your loved ones, and your case. Contact our truck accident lawyers today at (855) 326-0000, toll-free.

You May Also Be Interested In:

• How an 18-Wheeler's ECM or Black Box Can Provide Evidence for Your Case
• How Do I Prove My Losses to a Jury?
• Common Trucking Company Defense Strategies: Blaming a Mystery Car for the Accident