Truck tire blowouts are a major cause of serious commercial truck accidents in San Bernardino, California. With heavy truck traffic throughout the Inland Empire, a tire failure can quickly become catastrophic. When a commercial truck loses a tire, the driver may lose control, cross lanes, jackknife, roll over, or collide with nearby vehicles.
San Bernardino County is a major Southern California freight hub. If you were injured in a truck accident involving a tire blowout, determining why the tire failed may be the most important issue in your claim. Truck tire blowouts are often preventable mechanical failures, and identifying the cause frequently determines who may be legally responsible.
What Causes Truck Tire Blowouts?
Most truck crashes due to tire blowouts do not occur without warning signs. In many cases, the tire was already unsafe before the collision. Excessive tread wear is one of the most common causes of commercial truck tire failures. As tread depth decreases, the tire becomes more vulnerable to heat buildup, tread separation, and structural failure.
Improper tire inflation is another leading factor. Underinflated tires generate excessive heat during operation, while overinflated tires may become more susceptible to impact damage. Truck tire blowouts can also result from tire damage, defective retreading, improper repairs, or overloaded cargo. In some situations, the tire may contain a manufacturing defect or design defect that causes it to fail unexpectedly.
Mechanical Failure and Trucking Company Negligence
A truck tire blowout often raises questions about maintenance practices. Commercial trucking companies are responsible for keeping their vehicles in safe operating condition. When a company fails to inspect tires, replace worn tires, address visible damage, or correct known safety issues, that failure may directly contribute to a collision.
California Vehicle Code § 34505.5 generally requires trucking companies to regularly inspect, maintain, and repair commercial vehicles to help ensure they can be operated safely. In a truck tire blowout case, maintenance records may help show whether a trucking company properly inspected the truck and addressed dangerous tire conditions before the crash.
California Vehicle Code § 34500 brings many commercial trucks and motor carriers within California’s commercial vehicle safety program, while California Vehicle Code § 34501 authorizes safety regulations governing vehicle maintenance, inspections, and other operational requirements. These laws establish many of the safety standards trucking companies are expected to follow.
How Truck Tire Blowouts Are Investigated
Determining why a truck tire failed requires a detailed investigation. The damaged tire itself is often the most important evidence. Experts may examine the tire to determine whether maintenance failures, overloading, or defects contributed to the blowout.
The condition of the tire can often reveal whether the blowout resulted from poor maintenance, excessive weight, a product defect, or another mechanical problem. Maintenance records may show whether warning signs existed before the crash. Investigators frequently review maintenance, inspection, cargo, and weight records. Because trucking companies often control much of this evidence, it is important to preserve relevant records before they are lost, destroyed, or overwritten.
Liability for a Truck Tire Blowout Accident
Truck tire blowout cases often involve multiple potentially liable parties. The trucking company is frequently the primary defendant because it typically controls vehicle inspections, maintenance schedules, repair decisions, and operational policies. California Civil Code § 1714 generally provides that individuals and businesses may be responsible for injuries caused by a failure to exercise ordinary care.
A maintenance company may be responsible if it failed to identify dangerous tire conditions during inspections or performed negligent repair work. If an outside contractor approved a tire that should have been removed from service, that contractor may share responsibility.
A cargo-loading company may also be liable if excessive weight or improper loading contributed to the tire failure. In some cases, the tire manufacturer may be responsible if a manufacturing defect, design defect, or defective retread caused the blowout.
Defective Tires and Product Liability Claims
Not every truck tire blowout is caused by poor maintenance. Some failures occur because the tire itself was defective when it entered the marketplace. A defective tire may experience tread separation, belt failure, sidewall failure, or structural problems despite proper maintenance and normal use.
When a defect causes a crash, the injured victim may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer and potentially other entities in the chain of distribution. Experts may evaluate whether a defect contributed to the collision.
Proving a Truck Tire Blowout Injury Claim
A successful truck tire blowout claim generally requires proof that the tire failure resulted from negligence, a defective product, or another cause. The investigation typically focuses on what caused the tire to fail, who was responsible for preventing that failure, and whether the failure directly caused the collision and injuries.
Evidence preservation is particularly important because damaged tires, maintenance records, and inspection documents may become unavailable if action is not taken promptly. The sooner an investigation begins, the easier it may be to establish liability and preserve key evidence.
Compensation Available After a San Bernardino Truck Tire Blowout Accident
Victims injured in truck tire blowout accidents often suffer substantial losses. A serious collision can result in catastrophic injuries and long-term financial, physical, and emotional hardships.
Depending on the facts, compensation may be available for medical expenses, future medical care, lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property damage. When multiple parties share fault for a truck accident, California Civil Code § 1431.2 may affect each party’s responsibility for noneconomic damages, including pain and suffering.
California law also imposes deadlines on legal claims. California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 generally gives injured victims two years to file a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death claim. Because deadlines can affect your rights, it is important to act quickly after a truck accident.
San Bernardino Tire Blowout Accident Lawyer
If a truck tire blowout caused your crash in San Bernardino County, determining why the tire failed may be the key to identifying who is responsible for your injuries. Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for injury victims and has earned recognition from Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, AVVO, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
When a preventable truck tire failure leaves you facing serious injuries and financial losses, get Samer on your side. Contact Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates by calling (949) 264-5685 or contacting us online for a free consultation with a San Bernardino truck accident attorney.
