BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The mother of a 12-year-old Tuscaloosa boy killed in a wreck on Interstate 65 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer and the local distributor of a recently replaced tire on her SUV.
12-year-old Octavious Chandler died in a March 25, 2011, wreck in north Jefferson County. The crash happened about 5:50 p.m. on interstate 65 north in Gardendale. His mother, Julia Chandler, was driving, and Octavious was in the front passenger seat.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday afternoon in Jefferson County Circuit Court by Birmingham attorneys Jeremy Knowles and Amanda Luker on behalf of Julia Chandler. It claims that Michelin North America Inc. and Amigo Tires, a Tuscaloosa car repair shop, acted "negligently and wantonly" in regards to a tire that "detreaded" while Chandler was driving.
A jury trial is requested to decide whether to award compensatory and punitive damages from Amigo Tire and Michelin.
According to the suit, "defendant Michelin designed, manufactured, distributed and/or sold the Michelin XW4 tire made the basis of this lawsuit. Said tire failed and detreaded, thereby causing the fatal accident."
After the wreck, witnesses told investigators that it appeared the vehicle blew a tire, then lost control and flipped several times before landing in the middle of the interstate.
Octavious was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother and three other passengers - an 8-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl - were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The lawsuit states that on March 15, 2011, Julia Chandler bought a used Michelin tire that Amigo Tire employees selected from the shop's inventory. The employees installed the tire on her 1997 Ford Explorer.
Ten days later, the tire's tread separated as Chandler was driving, "causing the vehicle to go out of control and rollover several times," the suit states.
It claims that Amigo Tire employees "negligently or wantonly selected" the Michelin tire, "which was over 15 years old, and informed Plaintiff that the tire was safe for travel. In fact, the tire was not fit for use."
When contacted by phone, a man who said he was the manager of Amigo Tire said he wasn't aware of the lawsuit and hung up.
The suit also claims breach of warranty against Michelin, which "impliedly warranted" that the tire "was reasonably fit and suitable for the purposes for which it was intended to be used. The Plaintiff avers that the Defendants breached said implied warranties in that the tire was not fit for the ordinary and expected purposes for which such tires are intended to be used; but to the contrary, said tire was in a dangerously defective and unsafe condition."
_______________________________
Source: Alabama (Stein, 3/14)
No comments:
Post a Comment