Firestone SteelTex lawsuit launched

In the wake of the Firestone/Ford recall, another set of Firestone tires is making its way into the courts. In summer 2005, a class-action suit was filed in Federal court against Firestone stating that their SteelTex R4S, R4SII, and A/T tires were defective, leading to tire separations and blowouts across the country. The suit claims that as a result there have been numerous incidents of property damage, injuries, and at least 50 deaths.

The suit was originally filed in a California state court in August 2002, but was re-filed “pursuant to President Bush's request that these big class actions be filed in federal court.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recalled one of the models in the suit, the SteelTex A/T, in February 2004. But despite three petitions, they did not recall any other models after their own testing found no fault in those models.

Others would not agree. Several people have described similar incidents on the ConsumerAffairs.com website. In one report, a SteelTex model blew out and almost caused a motor home to rollover. A woman in Ohio stated that she had blowouts on three separate occasions, and knew of another family who had the same problems.

The lawsuit states that the SteelTex tires are inferior because of cost-cutting measures that Firestone started as early as 1995. At that point, the company “de-engineered” the tires to save money, which resulted in a higher risk of tire blow out and separation. The suit also alleges that the company routinely blamed all complaints on several different conditions including impact damage, improper inflation, and road hazards – never on the quality of the tires.

One driver received such a letter after complaining about the tires to Firestone. The letter claimed that he must have hit a pothole – both times. But the driver, who worked as a mechanic, brought his SteelTex tires to an expert who found a crack along the inner lining. According to the expert, even a little bit of air entering the tire could cause a blowout. All of the driver’s tires including the ones that didn’t blow out were found to have this defect.

If you have had an accident after a tire blowout or separation, contact the auto accident experts at Jim S. Adler & Associates. Cost-cutting measures by several tire manufacturers over the years have put their customers at unnecessary risk. No matter how companies decide to save money, they still have an obligation to provide safe and defect-free tires. Should they fail, you have the right to seek fair compensation as a result of their negligence.

Contact a Jim S. Adler & Associates personal injury attorney right now for a free case review. We’ll let you know what your rights are – and help you protect them.

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