One would think that a manufacturer of vehicle auto parts would prioritize safety at its manufacturing plants to prevent personal injury and death. One would also assume that when a mass-producing company begins to manufacture its product(s), the company would have extensive examinations and procedures for its manufacturing processes and for its working conditions. However, that is not the case at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. As a matter of fact, Goodyear is among the deadliest manufacturers in the nation for its workers and causes of injuries for its consumers. Reveal, from The Center for Investigative Reporting, conducted a six-month investigation into Goodyear. This investigation discovered a multitude of deaths and injuries because of Goodyear’s carelessness. Tires involved in three fatal accidents were manufactured in Goodyear plants in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Danville, Virginia. What were the causes of these deaths and injuries by Goodyear? The answer is intense production demands and leaks in the roof during storms.
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Furthermore, Police listed Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor tire (more than 40,000 tires thee company later recalled) as a cause of a crash that killed two college students, on their way to college, in West Texas in 2011. In addition to the tragedy in West Texas, in 2012, another Goodyear consumer’s tire separated, which caused the consumer’s vehicle to flip and land in a ditch, in the State of Michigan. This terrible accident caused severe injuries, specifically, the consumer is now a partial quadriplegic. How are both crashes related? The tires in both cases were manufactured at Goodyear’s plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Goodyear stated to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a letter that, “[u]se of these tires in severe conditions could result in partial tread separation, which could lead to vehicle damage or a motor vehicle crash.” Why is Goodyear’s tires causing death and personal injuries? According to Reveal, dozens of former workers at the company’s Fayetteville and Danville plants have given sworn statements criticizing the plant’s practices. Specifically, the former employees have blamed intense production demands and leaks in the plants’ roofs during rain storms for weakening tires, which likely caused them to separate and fail.
Since August 2015, five Goodyear workers have been killed in their manufacturing plants. Four of these deaths were at Danville, Virginia, plant in one year alone. As a result of these terrible working conditions, Goodyear admitted it had violated workplace safety and health laws more than 100 times. Because of these violations, Goodyear agreed to a fine of $1.75 Million earlier this year.
What do all of these deaths and injuries at the behest of Goodyear’s products and working conditions mean in a legal perspective? Well, for the defective tires, that is a products liability law suit. In fact, the Personal Injury Lawyer for the consumer who is now a partial quadriplegic, filed a products liability suit because of the substantial personal injury he now suffers for the rest of his life. A jury awarded him $16 million for the damages from his injury. Other liability that Goodyear opens itself to are wrongful deaths, like the two college students who died because of the defective tires and employment actions for work place safety violations.
If Goodyear continues its careless practices it has established at its manufacturing plants, it will continue to be seen as a deadly manufacturer and be held liable for personal injuries sustained because of defective tires, wrongful deaths from its tires, and unsafe employment conditions.
If you have found that you or a family member may require a Personal Injury Lawyer, Aigen Injury Law, is here to assist you. We understand that in this moment, especially when there is a death or an injured individual, that litigation may not be on your mind. However, your lawyer at Aigen Injury Law will be available to guide you, protect your rights, answer all your questions, and fight to ensure that you maximize your recovery against all responsible parties. Please do not hesitate to submit an online FREE CASE REVIEW. At Aigen Injury Law, an experienced lawyer is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week working relentlessly on behalf of victims who suffer from all types of accidents. We offer a free consultation for your personal injury case and there is no fee unless we recover for you.