Two weeks ago there was a traffic fatality in the Coachella Valley on the I-10 freeway. The auto accident resulted from a one car rollover. The CHP reported that it appeared that the SUV rolled because of a left rear tire blowout. When a tragedy such as this occurs it is not unusual for accident victims or their surviving families to seek the assistance of a Palm Springs personal injury attorney.
At the Barry Regar law firm we are asked to investigate single car rollover accidents. We start with a thorough reading of the police report to see if the investigating officers found any mechanical defects in the accident vehicle. Our investigator will then contact any witnesses listed in the traffic collision report to learn if in fact the statements attributed to them in the report are accurate recordings of what they actually told the CHP investigator. It is not unusual to discover that what the police report states a witness told the officer is not what the witness actually said at the time of the on the scene investigation. We gather all photographs of the accident vehicle and any evidence markings left at the scene that can be photographed in a safe manner. Police photos are obtained if they were taken by the officers.
In a tire blow out case it is most important to obtain the failed tire and submit it to a tire expert to determine the cause of the blowout. Most often the blowout was caused by the driver operating the vehicle with bald tires. If that is the case then finding fault with some person or business other than the vehicle owner is probably not going to happen. If the auto accident described above caused injuries to passenger in the SUV they would be able to sue the owner of the car for negligence for failing to properly maintain the vehicle. If the owner was the deceased driver then the estate of the driver could be sued. The insurance company for the owner-driver would have to defend the estate and pay any damages awarded against the estate up to the limits of the liability insurance coverage on the SUV.
If it can be proved that the tire blowout was caused by a defective tire, the tire manufacturer and retailer can be sued by the heirs of the deceased driver in a defective products lawsuit. Any injured passengers could also join in the lawsuit against the tire manufacturer and the retailer. We would also investigate the possibility that the blown tire may have been negligently patched and or installed on the wheel which would allow our law firm to sue the repair facility for negligence in causing the Palm Springs wrongful death of the driver in the I-10 rollover accident.
At Barry Regar APLC we investigate our client's car crash claims to obtain reasonable compensation from all potential persons or business entities responsible for injuring our clients. Contact a lawyer at this firm to learn all your legal rights available to you.