by Sterling Anthony, CPP, expert in packaging, marketing, logistics, and human-factors.
Synopsis: A tire on a semi-trailer blew and caught fire from friction with the aluminum wheel. After extinguishing the fire, the driver called a road service company. A service vehicle arrived with two occupants: a driver and a trainee. The service driver was told of the fire and saw the residue from the fire extinguisher; yet, he removed the damaged tire and replaced it with a new one. While the trainee was inflating the tire, it explosively separated from the wheel. The trainee was caught in the trajectory and killed.
The trainee’s father, as the estate administrator, sued the road service company and its driver. The road service company, in turn, filed a joinder complaint against (among others) the manufacturer of the aluminum wheel, alleging (among other allegations) failure-to-warn about a fire-damaged wheel’s susceptibility to explosive tire separation.
I was retained by the attorney for the wheel manufacturer. I had served as an expert in a variety of failure-to-warn cases, involving such products as charcoal grills, water beds, birth-control pills, cordless drills, car seats, foods, and pharmaceuticals.
Opinions: There was no failure-to-warn. The wheel manufacturer’s Service Manual explicitly warned against mounting a tire on a wheel that has been damaged by excessive heat, including fire. The warning appeared in multiple locations throughout the Service Manual; furthermore, in each location, the content and format of the warning met the criteria for adequacy proposed in the literature, by regulators, and by industry best practices.
Discovery revealed that more than 100 copies of the wheel manufacturer’s Service Manual than been given to the road service company. Deponents from the road service company not only admitted receipt, but said that the Service Manual was incorporated into the training of all employees, including that of the driver who serviced the call. Deponents from the road service company also said that the driver who serviced the call performed contrary to the warnings in addition to contrary to company policy that forbade trainees from going on service runs.
Result: The case settled.
Sterling Anthony’s contact information is: 100 Renaissance Center, Box-176, Detroit, MI 48243; 313-531-1875; www.thepackagingexpertwitness.com; thepackagingexpertwitness@gmail.com