Goodyear-Dunlop loses $15 million case over US motorcycle tyre blowout

Peoria, Illinois - A US District Court has awarded a woman over $15 million (€11 million) following a motorcycle accident in which a tyre blew out and the woman was injured.

The tyre was manufactured by Goodyear Dunlop Tire and Judge Joe Billy McDade awarded the woman, Trish McCloud a total of $15.1 million in compensation. The verdict was reached in United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois - Peoria County on 29 August.

The jury appears to have rejected Goodyear's claim that the accident was caused by the underinflation of the tyre as well as overloading.

According to a case report website, "Trish McCloud sued Goodyear Dunlop Tire on a products liability theory claiming that the tyre on the motorcycle on which she was a passenger was defective and unreasonably dangerous. She further claimed that as a direct result of the defect in the tyre, it failed causing an accident on May 26, 2002, on Interstate 55 in Livingston County, Illinois in which she sustained a severe head injury with resulting permanent brain damage. McCloud was riding on the back of the motorcycle returning home from a bike rally in Michgan when the tyre suddenly deflated causing the driver to lose control of the machine. The bike flipped and McCloud's head struck the pavement. Despite the fact that she was wearing a helmut, the impact resulted in a close head injury. She now requires full time around-the-clock care."

The plaintiff was awarded $1.5 million for disfigurement and scarring, $4.89 million for pain and suffering, another $4.89 million for her reduced quality of life and about $3.8 million for past and future medical costs.

Goodyear-Dunlop has yet to decide how it will respond to the verdict.

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Case summary from MoreLaw.com (US)

Woman awarded $15 million in accident lawsuit PJ Star (US - South Carolina)