Philadelphia County Jury Awards $11.7M in Tire Defect Negligence
A woman and her daughter were injured when a truck tire tread failed, causing the vehicle they were passengers in to swerve and overturn. The woman suffered the amputation of her arm, and the daughter lost her leg. The tire had been retreaded by a tire company. Lawsuits were filed against the truck owner and tire companies.
Case Information Updated: October 2025
Case Outcome
- Outcome
- Settlement
- Amount
- $11,700,000
- County
- Philadelphia County, PA
- Resolved
- 2018
Injury & Accident Details
- Injury Type
- Catastrophic Injury
- Accident Type
- Other
- Case Type
- Product Liability, Defective Product
Settlement Context
This settlement of $11,700,000 is near the median of $11,700,000 for catastrophic injury cases resolved by settlement. The typical range is $52,460 to $15,025,000, based on 6 cases in our database.
Case Overview
On July 31, 2015, a vehicle carrying a woman and her daughter as passengers was traveling northbound on I-295 in West Deptford Township, New Jersey. Ahead of their vehicle, a cement truck owned by a concrete products company experienced a tire tread failure. The tread became a roadway hazard, causing the plaintiffs' vehicle to swerve, strike a guardrail, and overturn. The injured woman suffered an arm amputation, and her daughter suffered a leg amputation. The tire had been retreaded by tire service companies.
The injured woman and her daughter, along with other passengers from their vehicle, filed a lawsuit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. The complaint alleged negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress against the concrete products company, the tire manufacturer, and the tire retreaders, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants denied negligence.
Prior to and during a nine-week trial, several confidential settlements were reached. Following an appellate decision in the plaintiffs' favor, the tire manufacturer and one tire retreader settled for confidential sums. Another tire retreader settled on the third day of trial. The concrete products company settled with the minor child plaintiff and a third passenger during the trial, but did not settle with the injured woman.
At trial, the injured woman argued that the concrete products company was negligent in its pre-trip inspection, failing to detect a large bolt in the tire. She also contended the company was negligent for not contacting emergency services, despite the tire tread remaining on the roadway for almost 30 minutes and causing multiple crashes. The concrete products company argued that the driver of the plaintiffs' vehicle was negligent in reacting to the roadway hazard. After three days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the injured woman, awarding her $10.6 million in compensatory damages and an additional $1.1 million in delay damages.
Understanding This Case
- This case was resolved through a settlement, avoiding the uncertainty and expense of a trial. Settlements typically resolve faster and provide guaranteed compensation.
- This case was resolved in Philadelphia County, Texas. Local jury tendencies, judge assignments, and regional economic conditions all influence case outcomes in this jurisdiction.
- Resolved in 2018, this case reflects the legal and economic conditions of that period, including medical costs, insurance practices, and jury award trends at the time.
VerdictlyTM Score
This outcome is within expected ranges
This score is calculated by analyzing injury type, accident details, geographic location, temporal trends, and comparing against 2,000+ similar cases in our database.
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