Determining Fault after a Tire Blowout Leads to a Wreck
You’re driving down the highway when you see something in the road ahead. Roadkill? No, probably not… oh, it’s a blown tire; likely from a semi truck.
It’s hard to drive without seeing the remnants of a blown tire littering at least the shoulder of the highway. Which makes one wonder, what happens if you’re driving next to the big rig when those massive chunks of rubber come shredding off? Furthermore, who is at fault? The driver, the tire company, the owner of the truck, or someone else completely?
Let’s take a look at how bad tire management can lead to truck accidents, and why you would need a Texas truck accident attorney to navigate these convoluted waters.
What Sort of Faulty Tires Can Lead to Truck Accidents?
Unlike passenger vehicles, where fault is almost always placed on the driver, truck accidents can have a range of faulty parties. It’s not always the driver that is responsible, but it can come down to a number of other issues with the tires, and blame can be put on:
Manufacturers – Sometimes products just aren’t made right. Tires are no different. Truck accidents can occur when there is:
- Design flaws
- Steel belt separation
- Tread separation
- Poor retread
After you have been in a wreck with a truck, will you know what to look for to see if the accident was caused by poor manufacturing?
Maintenance Workers – Often the driver is responsible for maintaining his or her own vehicle. But there is more to it when it comes down to it, including:
- Poor tire mounting
- Poor flat repair
- Poor tire alignment
- Improper installation
A thorough investigation can determine what exactly happened.
Texas Truck Accidents Caused by Tire Blowouts
Blowouts generally don’t “just happen.” There’s almost always a cause that sets things in motion (that cause can sometimes be that the tires are just too old and should have been replaced many miles ago).
Other causes of truck accidents due to blowouts include:
- Road hazards. A generalized term for anything in the road that shouldn’t be there including potholes, nails, etc.
- Overloaded or poorly loaded trucks. Too much weight ultimately rests on the tires.
- Slick roads put different stressors on the tires.
Proving Fault in Texas Truck Accidents
After a wreck, there’s so much to do. You have to get your vehicle fixed or replaced, you are dealing with insurance, you might have injuries, you may be missing work or trying to work from home with limited mobility… there’s so much going on that stress is eating away at you.
To top it all off, you’re trying to figure out who is at fault. The truck driver? The company the driver drivers for? The maintenance worker or the manufacturer? If you haven’t dealt with this before, how do you even know where to start?
Instead of adding to the stress, getting help from a Texas truck accidents lawyer, like Herbert Law Group, is the way to go.
We take all that stress off your plate, so you focus on getting back to life as normally as you possibly can. Give us a call at 214-414-6808, or fill out the contact form on contact page and we’ll be in touch for your free initial consultation.