EXPERT NOT REQUIRED TO GIVE EXACT CAUSE OF TIRE FAILURE
An Illinois Federal judge has held that an expert witness who was retained by a woman injured in a motorcycle accident was not required to identify the exact cause of the crash but was allowed to narrow the cause to one of three errors in the manufacturing process. McCloud v. Goodyear Dunlap Tire, 2008 WL 2323792 (C.D. Ill., June 2, 2008).
A woman was permanently disabled when the rear tire of her Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle blew out. Although the expert witness on behalf of the Plaintiff testified that the blow out occurred because the nylon cord became imbedded in the tire’s inner most layer rather than where it belonged, in the layer of rubber, this error could have occurred during three possible ways phases of the manufacturing process. Goodyear argued that the plaintiff’s expert had not pin pointed when or where the defect occurred in the manufacturing process. The three possible manufacturing errors identified by the expert where “not simply speculative guesses,” noted one of the judges.
It is unclear whether this rational will be carried over in other product liability cases. It appears that the expert’s opinions and basis of his opinions were appropriate and not based on speculation. This type of ruling is favorable for consumers who are injured by a product but cannot identify the specific cause of the product defect.
We are experienced at handling product liability cases. Please contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll if you need a qualified product liability attorney.
