The Wall Street Journal reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether certain Goodyear G159 tires manufactured between 1996 and 2003 are defective and may have caused vehicles to lose control and crash. The Journal reports the tires may be linked to 95 deaths or injuries, with the most recent incident occurring in 2015. The Journal says NHTSA has received 10 consumer complaints concerning tire failure of those models on recreational vehicles, and Goodyear has reported nine other incidents.
The AP reports NHTSA’s letter to the company included allegations that the tire resulted in 95 death or injury claims between 1998 and 2015, though it did not separate the deaths from injuries or divulge the source of the figures. Goodyear said in a statement that it “will cooperate fully with NHTSA in its investigation, including providing requested information on its G159 tires.” MLive (MI) reports the Center for Auto Safety announced that a judge ruled that Goodyear would not be able to keep a case related to the potentially defective tires sealed. The Center said in its release, “The ruling comes in Haeger v. Goodyear, a case alleging that the company not only sold defective tires, but knew about the defect, intentionally concealed it, and lied to the public – and the court – for years in an effort to keep it secret.” The Center continued, “The case settled last year, but thousands of documents regarding the alleged defect – and Goodyear’s efforts to cover it up – remained secret.”
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
