Recall System for Passenger Tires is Broken, New Report Says

[vc_row fullwidth="false" attached="false" padding="0" visibility=""][vc_column border_color="" visibility="" width="1/1"][vc_column_text responsive_align="center"]Any motorist who has endured a tire blowout knows: It’s a scary thing. The sound. The way your car handles afterward. The personal injury attorneys at Pribanic & Pribanic know that many times, the culprit is a defect in the tire, which often prompts recalls. In fact, according to the National Transportation Safety Board:

Tire problems cause 33,000 accidents each year
Tire problems are blamed for the death of 500 or more motorists a year, and 19,000 injuries
Only one in five tires is taken out of service via recall

The board recently released a report that indicated that the system by which tires are recalled is a broken one. The report included information on several investigations the National Transportation Safety Board conducted into the issue of tire recalls, including two in February 2014. The National Transportation Safety Board had investigated four fatal tire-related motor vehicle accidents that were caused by a partial or complete tire tread separation. The first crash occurred in Centerville, Louisiana, and it involved:

a sport utility vehicle and a school bus
The SUV experienced a tread separation of its left rear tire and sudden air loss

The second crash occurred in Lake City, Florida, and involved:

a 15-passenger van occupied by three adults and seven children.
The van experienced a complete tread separation

Limited investigations were completed for the other two fatal crashes, and according to the report, 12 people died as a result of, and 42 were injured in, the four crashes – and a defective tire was to blame in all four. The problem? According to the NTSB report:

Tire manufacturers can’t reach tire owners in an effort to warn them of potential (and sometimes fatal) defects
Independent tire dealers aren’t required to register the tires they sell with the manufacturers (and most do not)

What does that mean? According to the NTSB report, it means that between 2009 and 2013, most motorists using recalled tires had no idea that they had been recalled. For those who wonder, “What happens now?” the NTSB has made a recommendation to Congress: That drivers register their tires with their manufacturers. That process would require sending your name, address and tire identification number with the company who manufactured it. The personal injury attorneys at Pribanic & Pribanic know that action needs to be taken to prevent fatal motor vehicle accidents spurred by a defective tire. Our attorneys have represented families that have been devastated by a crash caused by a defective tire and helped them get the compensation they deserve. Pribanic & Pribanic’s personal injury lawyers are currently helping the Charcalla family, whose lives were changed by a crash caused by a defective tire. The family patriarch, Gary Charcalla, 49, was driving his family home from a vacation in Virginia in July of 2011, behind the wheel of a recreational vehicle and hauling a trailer when the left front tire exploded, causing a crash that killed him. His wife was pinned in the wreckage, suffering burns to her arms and face as the couple’s boys watched on. While the boys were not physically injured in the crash, their emotional injuries were severe. Pribanic & Pribanic filed a federal lawsuit against the tire manufacturer in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging that a defective product – the tires on the recreation vehicle – caused the accident that killed Mr. Charcalla and seriously injured his wife. Charcalla v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. is one of so many across the country that allege that a defect in a particular tire caused accidents after the rubber tread peeled away. If you were seriously injured, or someone you know and love suffered a serious personal injury or died in a vehicle crash you believe was caused by a defective tire or defective product, call the Pittsburgh personal injury attorneys at Pribanic & Pribanic today to schedule a free initial consultation at 412-672-5444 or toll free at (412) 672-5444.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]