Firestone/FordThe Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation assigned Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. Tires Products Liability Litigation to Judge Sarah Evans Barker, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana. The Court recently set case management schedules for cases entering the MDL between August, 2003 and those entering the MDL after February, 2004. The Court also designated specific dates for the production of names and testimonies of experts and has ruled on several motions concerning expert witnesses.The Law Group, Ltd. filed the first worldwide class action lawsuit against Bridgestone/Firestone-USA, Bridgestone-Japan, and Ford Motor Company on behalf of all persons who suffered personal injuries and death as a result of riding in Ford vehicles equipped with unreasonably dangerous defective tires. The Law Group, Ltd. settled dozens of these cases for their clients and several more are moving toward resolution under the centralized MDL supervision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. During the 1990s, Ford Motor Co. began equipping many of its Explorer sport utility vehicles with factory installed tires manufactured by Bridgestone/Firestone. Unfortunately, an alarming number of these Firestone tires possessed design and manufacturing defects which caused the tread to separate from the rest of the tire at high speeds, especially in warm climates. The result of the tread separation often caused the defective tire to shred and disintegrate, which would cause the Ford Explorer to roll-over due to its high center of gravity. As early as fall of 1999, Ford began a recall of 15 and 16 inch tires on exported sport utility vehicles in foreign countries. On May 22, 2001 Ford announced a recall and that it would replace all Wilderness AT tires, including 15, 16 and 17 inch tires on Ford Motor Company products. It was estimated that 13 million tires may have been replaced at a cost to Ford of over $3 billion.
Contact UsIf you or a family member have suffered injuries related to Ford vehicles or Bridgestone/Firestone tires, and you would like more information concerning your legal rights, please contact us.
 |
