Goodyear
Goodyear’s G159 tire has been at the center of many lawsuits filed against the company. Between 1996 and 2003, these tires were sold and installed on motorhomes. Blaming the motorhome owners for improper upkeep and care, these tires have been the cause of several deaths and major injuries resulting in 41 lawsuits.
All of the lawsuits and court filings paint a clear picture of Goodyear’s effort to hide evidence for almost 20 years. In an effort to keep the deadly details of this product away from the public, Goodyear refused to release information about the G159 tire. In the many lawsuits they have faced, they purposefully determined “what documents to produce on a case-by-case basis depending on the language of requests by plaintiffs” (Felton, 2018). After refusing to hand over data concerning the G159 tire for many years, Goodyear was finally made to hand it over by the court; it proved that they knew these tires could be dangerous all along.
Remington
Remington Model 700 series firearms are responsible for several deaths and injuries due to being fired without the trigger being pulled (Weinstein, 2017). Some say that the problem was known to Remington long before most of the accidental shootings occurred. In 1948, the engineer who helped design the 700 series rifles stated in a court deposition that he proposed a “safer trigger design that would reduce the risk of misfire.” However, Remington decided to forego the improvement because it would increase the cost of each firearm by 5.5 cents.
Lindsay Corporation
Lindsay’s X-Lite guardrail end terminals have caused at least six deaths. Hannah Eimers, a 17-year-old, was killed near Knoxville when she struck a guardrail equipped with a Lindsay X-Lite end terminal that pierced her car instead of deflecting it (Hogan, 2018). Currently, three lawsuits have been filed in relating to deaths caused by the X-Lite system.
Lindsay continues to sell their product boasting “excellent impact performance” and “superior engineering design” (Lindsay, 2018). Additionally, they state on their website that they are in compliance with all U.S. guidelines. Despite refusing to recall their product Nebraska, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia have started to or made plans to remove X-Lite systems.
References
Felton, R. (2018, March 21). Investigation: Goodyear’s 20-Year Quest to Keep Details of Deaths and Settlements From the ‘Worst Tire Ever Made’ Secret. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/investigation-goodyears-20-year-quest-to-keep-details-of-deaths-and-settlements-from-the-worst-tire-ever-made-secret/Content?oid=16384525
Hogan, S., & Royster, M. (2018, January 23). Father Wants National Recall of Controversial Guardrail. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Grieving-Father-Wants-National-Recall-of-Controversial-Guard-Rail-470590493.html
Lindsay Corporation. (2018). End Terminals | Road Safety. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.barriersystemsinc.com/xlite-end-terminal
