A separate federal investigation continues even while the tire giant works to replace 6.5 million recalled tires. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned that an additional 1.4 million tires could be dangerous and should be replaced. The agency has received more than 1,400 complaints of tread loss, blowouts and other defects on Firestone tires.Peter Fader, professor of marketing at the Wharton School, said "It's hard to imagine another case, when a company is so directly responsible for something affecting so many people, that continues to get the attention this is getting."Will [the company] continue to be around? It's role in the marketplace has yet to be determined."Today, that role may get tarnished some more.Another recall effort was set to begin in Venezuela, where officials say they want to hold the tire maker and Ford Motor Co. criminally responsible for 46 fatal accidents. The South American nation's consumer protection agency said Monday that Bridgestone/Firestone would recall 62,000 more of the type of tire authorities say caused the accidents.

Bridgestone Corp. of Japan, parent of Bridgestone/Firestone of Nashville, Tenn., has already taken a $350 million loss for the recall of the tires, sold as standard equipment on Ford's Explorer sport utility and other vehicles. Haunted Houses In Roanoke Va AreaCompany officials acknowledge they have yet to figure out the magnitude of the toll, from such things as falling sales and possible legal settlements.Lazy Oaf Fruit T ShirtFrom the start of the tire recall, Bridgestone's reticence struck a contrast with the quickness of Ford, which immediately made executives available to reporters and undertook a national newspaper ad campaign.Suzuki Hayabusa Headlight Bulb SizeFord CEO Jac Nasser made a special effort to be visible, trying to assure people that Ford was being open and taking action.

Bridgestone was perceived as less forthright."This is a Firestone issue. The role of Ford won't be remembered nearly as well as Firestone," said Fader. "Ford will get past this pretty quickly, like the Tylenol scare. Ford is affected by it, but not necessarily directly responsible for the problems. It's hard to say that about Firestone."The nation's third largest tire maker, he said, "has done nothing in the public eye."To the exent you can learn from previous episodes, sitting back doing nothing is not an option. You need to stand up and have a more visible role in the eyes of the public. That's what will make or break a company in the market."They've done so little here. Sometimes words of reassurance go a long way. They haven't been very visible and haven't gone out of their way to put words of reassurance in everyone's face. That's what they need to do."Fader said it might come down to marketing options for Firestone, like hiding behind a new brand name or disassociating the future Firestone brand from the one of the past.

Fader doesn't think the sales of SUVs will be affected by the episode, but Bozarth disagrees."The SUV always had the propensity to roll over," he said. "I guess most of the media coverage has been on the tires. Not too much has been said about the vehicles and the risk there. It's not dangerous until you make a quick maneuver. Then it becomes very dangerous. Bozarth said it would be very unfortunate if Firestone is seriously damaged by the episode. "You could say a lot of industries are vulnerable to this type of situation. . ."Using the argument of defective merchandise could place the oil industry next on the block, then the auto industry, he said. Chronological look at tire sagaAugust 1999 - Ford offers customers in Saudi Arabia free replacements for tires in question.February 2000 - Ford offers free replacement tires for vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand.May 2000 - Ford offers to replace tires for customers in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.May 2 - After receiving numerous inquiries and complaints from consumers in the United States, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration opens a preliminary evaluation into alleged failure of ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires made by Firestone.Aug.

3 - NHTSA says it is probing 21 deaths in crashes of pickup trucks and SUVs where tire failure may have played a role.Aug. 4 - Sears, Roebuck & Co., the No. 1 tire retailer, stops selling certain Firestone tires.Aug. 7 - NHTSA says it is now probing at least 46 deaths potentially related to failures of Firestone tires. Discount Tire Co. and Montgomery Ward also say they will suspend sale of Firestone tires until more information is made available.Aug. 9 - Bridgestone announces the recall of 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires of certain sizes produced by its Firestone unit and offers to replace them.Aug. 15 - NHTSA raises to 62 from 46 the number of traffic deaths linked to Firestone tires and says it is looking into reports of 100 injuries, with almost all of those involving Ford Explorer SUVs.Aug. 24 - U.S. Senate says it will hold hearings on Firestone tire safety issue on Sept. 6. U.S. House says it will send investigators to look into the problem. House later also sets a hearing for Sept. 6 on the tire issue.

Ford CEO Jac Nasser initially refuses invitation to appear, then relents and decides to testify.Aug. 28 - Bridgestone says it will boost production to 650,000 tires in Japan from 450,000 earlier for replacements.Aug. 31 - NHTSA raises to 88 from 62 the number of deaths and to 250 from 100 the number of injuries linked to Firestone tires. Venezuela's consumer protection agency recommends Bridgestone and Ford be prosecuted over tires linked to 46 deaths in Venezuela.Sept. 4 - Bridgestone/Firestone reaches agreement with union to settle labor dispute and avert a strike at nine U.S. plants. Bridgestone agrees to recall all 62,000 Wilderness AT Firestone tires in Venezuela, which have been linked to at least 46 deaths.Chicago Tire Failure Attorneys Tires Failures & Motor Vehicle AccidentsDefects in tire design and manufacturing errors can result in tire blowouts and tread separations. A tire blowout or tire tread separation can ultimately lead to serious motor vehicle accidents, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, and bicycle accidents.

Tire RecallsIn the 1990's and early 2000's, safety advocates and experts brought to the federal government and public's attention the dangerous combination Firestone Wilderness AT, ATX, and ATX II tires and Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The propensity of these Firestone tires to fail at highway speeds led to an alarming number of rollovers and other motor vehicle accidents involving catastrophic injuries and death. Bridgestone/Firestone eventually recalled millions of these tires. Congress responded by passing the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act, which intends to increase consumer safety by requiring tire manufacturers and auto manufacturers, among other things, to report possible tire safety defects to the National Highway & Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). In the years since millions of defective tires have been recalled by tire manufactures including, Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and Michelin, to name just a few.

Tire AgingTires are made of rubber and as with any rubber product they begin to degrade over time. The tread wears out, the rubber begins to crack (both internally and externally), and the tires generally become weaker, which makes them more prone to catastrophic failure. Some tire manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers have started to advise their customers that tires should be taken out of service after 5 or 6 years, which is good, but long overdue advice. Still, tire manufacturers and auto manufacturers have done a generally poor job at communicating advice regarding tire aging to consumers. Specific and detailed warnings should be provided with expiration dates on tire sidewalls so that every owner of a tire knows when the tire should be replaced, regardless of tread depth.Design & Manufacturing FlawsIn addition to aging, tires can also fail due to design flaws or manufacturing flaws, such as the failure to include a cap ply on steel-belted radial tires and poor belt adhesion.The product liability trial lawyers at Pfaff, Gill & Ports, Ltd. work with a team of experts, including tire experts, engineers, and accident reconstructionists to thoroughly investigate motor vehicle accidents that involve tire failure.

We are committed to prosecuting all those meritorious cases against negligent tire manufacturers, auto manufacturers, and/or tire retailers where we find that serious injuries are due to defective tires. If you, a loved one, or client have been injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident that involved a tire blowout or tire failure, contact us today for a free case evaluation to determine if we can help you. You May Also Want to Read: $5 million awarded in fatal birth injuries case On behalf of Michael Gill of Pfaff, Gill & Ports, Ltd posted in Birth Injuries on Friday, May 30, 2014. Hospital errors and the impact on patient health Many medical facilities have certain procedures in place that are designed to limit the number of mistakes... M.G. v. Advocate Christ Medical Center - wrongful death of a man with TTP in the ICU after the failure to give plasmapheresis, a treatment that would have saved his life. K.B. v. Kim $30,000,000.00 jury verdict in a birth injury case for a six-year-old girl who suffered cerebral palsy due to a delayed emergency cesarean section, delivery.

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