Tire company ordered to pay truck driver $3 million for rollover crash

A Pennsylvania jury sided in favor of a dump truck driver who was severely injured in a rollover crash caused by reported tire tread failure.

Kumho Tire has been ordered to pay dump truck driver Milford Stevens $3.08 million in a  unanimous verdict from an Allegheny County jury.

Stevens suffered major injuries during a September 2014 crash near near Muddy Creek Township, according to a news release.

According to the lawsuit, Stevens driving at highway speed when the 2007 Mack tri-axle dump truck fully loaded with sand flipped over on U.S. 422. The crash happened after the tread separated on the left front Kumho Powerfleet 983 tire.

Stevens suffered fractures to his vertebrae, head, and face as well as neurological injuries.

Attorneys representing Stevens argued that the Kumho tire manufactured in Korea was defective in design and that the tire’s belts did not include an adequate AO package thereby preventing the tire from premature failure due to oxidation issues.

“This truck was a ticking time bomb because manufacturers like Kumho Tire USA are driven by profit rather than safety,” said attorney Wes Ball. “Bad designs cause bad problems. Companies like this shouldn’t be allowed to benefit from our system of trade while disregarding the safety of our citizens.”