Our Houston tire defect attorneys recently discussed the Goodyear recall of more than 40,000 Wrangler Silent Armor tires in several postings on this site. Two young Texas college students died before the recall was finally issued. There are more details – read on to learn about drug dealers, drug takers and tire makers. The company knew about the tire defects causing the tread separations for more than a year before that fatal accident occurred. Goodyear had received an excessive number of warranty claims and accident reports regarding the Wrangler Silent Armor tires. We know why nothing was done sooner to prevent injuries and fatalities from the flawed tires – the company’s desire to make money off these tires even though the tires are dangerous and injure people and their tire makers are accused of dealing drugs.
We handle tire cases all over the United States and have acccess to the top industry experts. Our connections have revealed startling revelations. Employees at the plant where the defective Goodyear tires were manufactured had been under investigation by law enforcement authorities for some time as a major drug distribution center. County narcotics agents raided the plant in March 2010 and arrested 15 workers for drug crimes. County authorities leveled 69 charges against these 15 offenders. The charges included trafficking of cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, opium, and a variety of prescription drugs. You read that correctly – the tire makers were dealing and doing drugs.
So it appears to our Houston tire defect attorneys that making a safe and effective tire was perhaps not the first thing on some plant workers’ minds at the Goodyear plant. The Cumberland County Sheriff mentioned that he’d been trying to do something about drug activity at the plant for 16 years, but hadn’t been able to get anyone inside. It wasn’t until Goodyear’s Akron, OH headquarters finally through in the towel and asked the Sheriff to come clean the place of the drug dealing tire makers.
Goodyear had aggressively marketed the Wrangler Silent Armor tire as a sturdy one suitable for off-road use, with superior resistance to such things as damage from stones caught in the treads. Yet in the end, Goodyear apparently blamed the failure of the tire involved in the fatal Texas wreck on damage from excessive usage (specifically from small stones trapped by the tire treads).
Our Houston tire defect attorneys find Goodyear’s delay in announcing a tire recall unconscionable. Their 2009 invitation to law enforcement shows that the company knew that things were happening at their plant that could negatively affect the safety of their product. The number of reports Goodyear soon began to receive of accidents and warranty claims stemming from the tires reinforced that knowledge. If the company had acted in a timely way in announcing a recall, the fatal Texas accident that claimed two young lives might have been avoided.
If you’ve been injured because a company delayed in recalling its defective tires, contact our experienced Houston tire defect attorneys for a free and confidential legal consultation. Our goal is to help you obtain the full financial recovery your deserve for your needless injury from the failure of their product.