Dolphan
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08/13/2001 - Updated 09:33 PM ET
Firestone attorney says tiremaker not at fault
By Earle Eldridge, USA TODAY
During opening arguments in a Texas lawsuit, lawyers for Bridgestone/Firestone put the blame squarely on the Ford Explorer for a tire failure accident that injured four people, putting one in a wheelchair. It is the first lawsuit related to tread separation failures of Firestone tires to go to trial. It could affect outcomes in hundreds of cases still pending against Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor.
It also is the latest battleground in the increasingly hostile fight between Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford over responsibility for accidents resulting from the tire failures, most of which involved Explorer sport-utility vehicles that rolled over. The tires have been linked to 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries.
Knox Nunnally, an attorney for Bridgestone/Firestone, told a jury in a McAllen, Texas, federal courtroom that "there are many reasons for a tire to lose its tread, just as there are many possible causes, or combination of causes, for vehicle accidents."
Dr. Joel Rodriguez, his wife, Marisa, and two other family members were in Rodriguez's 1998 Ford Explorer on a Mexican highway last year when a Firestone Wilderness AT tire failed, and the SUV rolled.
Marisa Rodriguez will have to use a wheelchair the rest of her life. The family wants $1 billion in damages.
The tiremaker has been paying some of Marisa Rodriguez's medical expenses since the accident.
"The Rodriguez family was struck by a terrible tragedy, and we are saddened and concerned that our tires were involved," Nunnally said. But, he added: "The tragic consequences were also caused by a fundamental design defect in the Ford Explorer."
Ford Motor reached a settlement with the Rodriguez family, and the family dropped the automaker from the lawsuit, so Ford will not be in court to defend the Explorer. But Ford has said repeatedly that the Explorer does not have any design defect that would cause it to roll over when a tire fails.
Tab Turner, an attorney for the Rodriguez family, told the jury that Bridgestone/Firestone knew the Wilderness tires were defective and that it is not taking responsibility for selling and marketing faulty tires.
Attorneys for the family say they also want Bridgestone/Firestone to broaden its recall. Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 6.5 million ATX and Wilderness AT tires last year, most of which were on Explorers. Ford began replacing an additional 13 million Wilderness AT tires in May despite strong objections from Bridgestone/Firestone that the tires are not defective.
Bridgestone/Firestone has settled more than 200 lawsuits before trial. Spokeswoman Jill Bratina says the tiremaker is open to a settlement in the Rodriguez case if it "is fair and equitable to all parties."
Contributing: The Associated Press
Firestone attorney says tiremaker not at fault
By Earle Eldridge, USA TODAY
During opening arguments in a Texas lawsuit, lawyers for Bridgestone/Firestone put the blame squarely on the Ford Explorer for a tire failure accident that injured four people, putting one in a wheelchair. It is the first lawsuit related to tread separation failures of Firestone tires to go to trial. It could affect outcomes in hundreds of cases still pending against Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor.
It also is the latest battleground in the increasingly hostile fight between Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford over responsibility for accidents resulting from the tire failures, most of which involved Explorer sport-utility vehicles that rolled over. The tires have been linked to 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries.
Knox Nunnally, an attorney for Bridgestone/Firestone, told a jury in a McAllen, Texas, federal courtroom that "there are many reasons for a tire to lose its tread, just as there are many possible causes, or combination of causes, for vehicle accidents."
Dr. Joel Rodriguez, his wife, Marisa, and two other family members were in Rodriguez's 1998 Ford Explorer on a Mexican highway last year when a Firestone Wilderness AT tire failed, and the SUV rolled.
Marisa Rodriguez will have to use a wheelchair the rest of her life. The family wants $1 billion in damages.
The tiremaker has been paying some of Marisa Rodriguez's medical expenses since the accident.
"The Rodriguez family was struck by a terrible tragedy, and we are saddened and concerned that our tires were involved," Nunnally said. But, he added: "The tragic consequences were also caused by a fundamental design defect in the Ford Explorer."
Ford Motor reached a settlement with the Rodriguez family, and the family dropped the automaker from the lawsuit, so Ford will not be in court to defend the Explorer. But Ford has said repeatedly that the Explorer does not have any design defect that would cause it to roll over when a tire fails.
Tab Turner, an attorney for the Rodriguez family, told the jury that Bridgestone/Firestone knew the Wilderness tires were defective and that it is not taking responsibility for selling and marketing faulty tires.
Attorneys for the family say they also want Bridgestone/Firestone to broaden its recall. Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 6.5 million ATX and Wilderness AT tires last year, most of which were on Explorers. Ford began replacing an additional 13 million Wilderness AT tires in May despite strong objections from Bridgestone/Firestone that the tires are not defective.
Bridgestone/Firestone has settled more than 200 lawsuits before trial. Spokeswoman Jill Bratina says the tiremaker is open to a settlement in the Rodriguez case if it "is fair and equitable to all parties."
Contributing: The Associated Press