Tire Defect Claims (Tread Separation and Blowouts)

Injury claims after a tire fails, where the question is whether the tire was defectively made or designed, was too old or was recalled, rather than only how the driver reacted.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of Tire Defects law firms.

What it means

A tire failure at highway speed, especially a tread separation on a rear tire of a pickup, SUV or van, can cause a loss of control and a rollover. When that happens the driver who lost control is often blamed first, but the tire itself may be the cause. A tire defect claim is a product liability claim against the tire manufacturer, and sometimes the vehicle maker, the retailer or the shop that installed or repaired the tire. The usual theories are a manufacturing defect (contamination, poor adhesion between the belts and the tread, or trapped air in a particular tire), a design defect (a tire line prone to belt separation without features such as a nylon cap ply), and failure to warn, particularly about tire age and about the vehicle-specific inflation and load limits.

Federal law sets the baseline. Tires sold in the United States must meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for strength, endurance and high-speed performance, and every tire carries a Department of Transportation identification number that encodes the plant and the week and year of manufacture; that code is how a recall is matched to a tire and how its age is read. After the Firestone and Ford Explorer recall, Congress passed the TREAD Act, which requires manufacturers to report claims, warranty data and foreign recalls to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, created the early-warning reporting system, and required the tire pressure monitoring systems now in every new passenger vehicle. A recall does not by itself prove a defect in the tire that failed, and a tire that was never recalled can still be defective; compliance with the federal standard is a minimum, not a defense. Age is a separate issue: rubber degrades over time even on an unused tire, vehicle and tire makers publish service-life guidance, and a claim can rest on a seller putting an old tire into service as new.

The evidence is the tire. The failed tire and its mate, the wheel, and the vehicle must be preserved unrepaired, because the forensic examination of the separation surfaces, the belts and the inner liner is what distinguishes a defect from road hazard damage, under-inflation or overloading, which are the manufacturer's usual defenses. Service records showing where the tire was bought and when it was installed, repaired or rotated matter as much, and the vehicle's event data recorder can show speed and steering inputs. The injury claim itself follows ordinary car accident rules for fault, insurance and damages, with the tire claim added on top; see also vehicle safety recalls.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

Keep the failed tire, its wheel and the other tires, and tell the insurer and any tow or salvage yard in writing that the vehicle and tires must not be disposed of or repaired; the tire is routinely thrown away within days, and without it there is no case. A lawyer who handles tire and vehicle-defect cases will have a tire failure analyst examine it and will know the recall history of that tire line. These cases are taken on a contingency fee and are expensive to prove, so the lawyer will want to see the tire and the injuries early. For a failure that caused only vehicle damage, the retailer's or manufacturer's warranty process is usually the practical route.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find Tire Defects law firms in your state

Choose your state to see Tire Defects law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Cars & Motor Vehicles” has no Tire Defects listing yet and opens the broader page.

• Alabama (Birmingham)
  +1 other city

  • Montgomery
• Alaska (Anchorage)
• Arizona (Chandler)
  +6 other cities

  • Gilbert
  • Glendale
  • Mesa
  • Phoenix
  • Scottsdale
  • Tucson
• Arkansas (Little Rock)
• California (Long Beach)
  +17 other cities

  • Anaheim
  • Bakersfield
  • Chula Vista
  • Fontana
  • Fremont
  • Irvine
  • Los Angeles
  • Modesto
  • Oakland
  • Riverside
  • Sacramento
  • San Bernardino
  • and 5 more with fewer listed firms
• Colorado (Aurora)
  +2 other cities

  • Colorado Springs
  • Denver
• Connecticut (Bridgeport, Cars & Motor Vehicles)
• Delaware (Wilmington)
• District of Columbia (Washington)
• Florida (Hialeah)
  +5 other cities

  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • St Petersburg
  • Tampa
• Georgia (Atlanta)
• Hawaii (Honolulu, Cars & Motor Vehicles)
• Idaho (Boise)
• Illinois (Chicago)
• Indiana (Fort Wayne)
  +1 other city

  • Indianapolis
• Iowa (Des Moines)
• Kansas (Wichita)
• Kentucky (Lexington)
  +1 other city

  • Louisville
• Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
  +1 other city

  • New Orleans
• Maine (Portland)
• Maryland (Baltimore)
• Massachusetts (Boston)
• Michigan (Detroit)
• Minnesota (Minneapolis)
  +1 other city

  • Saint Paul
• Mississippi (Jackson)
• Missouri (Kansas City)
  +1 other city

  • St. Louis
• Montana (Billings)
• Nebraska (Lincoln)
  +1 other city

  • Omaha
• Nevada (Henderson)
  +3 other cities

  • Las Vegas
  • North Las Vegas
  • Reno
• New Hampshire (Manchester)
• New Jersey (Jersey City)
  +1 other city

  • Newark
• New Mexico (Albuquerque)
• New York (Buffalo)
  +2 other cities

  • New York City
  • Rochester
• North Carolina (Charlotte)
  +5 other cities

  • Durham
  • Fayetteville
  • Greensboro
  • Raleigh
  • Winston-Salem
• North Dakota (Fargo, Cars & Motor Vehicles)
• Ohio (Cincinnati)
  +3 other cities

  • Cleveland
  • Columbus
  • Toledo
• Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
  +1 other city

  • Tulsa
• Oregon (Portland)
• Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
  +1 other city

  • Philadelphia
• Rhode Island (Providence)
• South Carolina (Columbia)
• South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
• Tennessee (Memphis)
  +1 other city

  • Nashville
• Texas (Austin)
  +12 other cities

  • Arlington
  • Corpus Christi
  • Dallas
  • El Paso
  • Fort Worth
  • Garland
  • Houston
  • Irving
  • Laredo
  • Lubbock
  • Plano
  • San Antonio
• Utah (Salt Lake City)
• Vermont (Burlington, Cars & Motor Vehicles)
• Virginia (Chesapeake)
  +3 other cities

  • Norfolk
  • Richmond
  • Virginia Beach
• Washington (Seattle)
  +1 other city

  • Tacoma
• West Virginia (Charleston)
• Wisconsin (Madison)
  +1 other city

  • Milwaukee
• Wyoming (Cheyenne, Cars & Motor Vehicles)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• CDL DisqualificationThe federally defined list of offenses that take away a commercial driver's license - including offenses committed in a personal car, and a lower alcohol limit than applies to other drivers.
• Contesting a Traffic TicketWhat a moving violation citation actually is, the difference between an infraction and a traffic misdemeanor, and the procedures - hearing, written defense, traffic school - for answering one.
• Driving Record PointsThe system most states use to score moving violations against a driver's record, with a license suspension when the total crosses a threshold - and an interstate compact that makes an out-of-state ticket count at home.
• DUI / DWI (Impaired Driving)Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs - a charge that almost always runs as two separate cases at once, one criminal and one over the license.
• Event Data Recorder (Vehicle Black Box) EvidenceThe crash data a modern vehicle records about itself in the moments before an impact - what the federal standard requires it to capture, who owns it, and who may retrieve it.
• Field Sobriety TestsThe roadside balance, coordination and eye-movement exercises an officer uses to build probable cause for an impaired-driving arrest - usually voluntary, and never the same thing as the chemical test that follows.
• Hours-of-Service Rules (Commercial Trucking)Federal limits on how long a commercial driver may drive and work, and the electronic records that show whether those limits were kept.
• Ignition Interlock DeviceA breath-testing device wired into a vehicle that stops it starting if the driver has been drinking - required by many states after an impaired-driving conviction as a condition of driving at all.
• Implied Consent and Administrative License SuspensionThe rule in every state that by driving you have agreed to a chemical test for alcohol or drugs after a lawful arrest - and the license suspension that follows a refusal or a failed test, separately from any criminal case.
• Leaving the Scene of an Accident (Hit and Run)The legal duties every state imposes on a driver involved in a crash - to stop, to exchange information and to help anyone hurt - and the separate criminal offense of driving away instead.
• Lemon Law and Warranty RightsRules that entitle a buyer to a refund or replacement when a new vehicle has a defect the manufacturer cannot fix in a reasonable number of attempts.
• Negligent Entrustment (Lending a Vehicle)The claim against a person who lent a car to someone they knew, or should have known, was unfit to drive it - the owner's own negligence, separate from the driver's.
• No-Fault Car InsuranceA system in which your own insurer pays your medical bills after a crash regardless of who caused it - used in a minority of states, and it limits when you can sue.
• Odometer Fraud and the Odometer DisclosureRolling back or replacing an odometer to hide a vehicle's true mileage is a federal offense, and every transfer of a vehicle must come with a written mileage statement the buyer can sue over if it is false.
• Permissive Use (Insurance Follows the Car)Which policy pays when someone drives a borrowed car with the owner's permission - the omnibus clause, the exclusions that defeat it, and the owner-liability statutes some states add.
• Policy LimitsThe maximum an insurance policy will pay - and usually the real ceiling on what a claim is worth, whatever the injury.
• Rideshare Accident Insurance (App Periods)Which insurance applies when a rideshare vehicle is in a crash depends on what the driver's app was doing at that moment - the three periods state transportation network company laws define, and the gap that personal policies leave.
• Salvage and Rebuilt TitlesThe title brands a state applies to a vehicle an insurer has declared a total loss, what a rebuilt brand means, and the federal database built to stop a branded title being washed clean in another state.
• SR-22 and Financial Responsibility FilingsThe certificate an insurer files with the state to prove a high-risk driver is carrying the required liability coverage - what triggers it, why it is not itself insurance, and what happens if the policy behind it lapses.
• Total Loss and Diminished ValueWhat happens when an insurer decides a damaged vehicle is not worth repairing - and the separate claim for a repaired car that is now worth less.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist CoverageCoverage on your own policy that pays when the driver who hurt you had no insurance, or nowhere near enough - and it is the coverage people most often discover they declined.
• Used Car Buyers Guide (FTC Used Car Rule)The window sticker a dealer must display on every used vehicle offered for sale, stating whether it comes with a dealer warranty or as is - and why the sticker overrides the contract.
• Vehicle Safety RecallA manufacturer's federally supervised obligation to notify owners of a safety defect and fix it free of charge - and the rules on what a dealer may sell with a recall still open.

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