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Attorneys of Record for
Taras Kick
C. Tab Turner
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TIRE OWNERS, SAFETY LAWYER, CONSUMER
MONDAY, AUG 14 -- Ford owners with Firestone Wilderness A/T tires that were not included in Firestone's limited recall, are planning to use the internet to muster other Ford and Firestone "second class customers" in an effort to force the companies to recall all Wilderness tires, said by unhappy Ford Explorer owner from Silver Spring, Maryland who has parked his SUV and doesn't intend to drive it until Ford replaces the original equipment 16" Wilderness tires that are showing signs of tread separation. He appeared at a press conference today in Washington with consumer and safety advocates and Tab Turner, an Arkansas lawyer who has sued Ford and Firestone a number of times for tire failures that led to rollovers and serious injuries or death.
"We're tired of half-truths and half steps. We want honest answers We are being treated like second class customers. We don't want anything special. We just want to be treated the same as Ford and Firestone customers in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and South America," [said by a spokespeson for a group] called the Tire Action Group (TAG) to press for a full recall. TAG will use Safetyforum.com as a platform for gathering information from owners about Wilderness failures and as a way of informing owners of non-recalled tires about new developments.
Geoffrey Coffin, a Connecticut businessman who was seriously injured five years ago when a 16 " tire failed on his six week old Ford Explorer, was also at the press conference.
Coffin were joined by Joan Claybrook, President of Public Citizen, Tab Turner, a Little Rock, Arkansas attorney who has sued Ford and Firestone multiple times for deaths and injuries associated with tire failures and rollovers; Ralph Hoar, Director of Safetyforum.com, a website designed for the exchange of information on hazardous or defective products; and Sean Kane, a partner in Strategic Safety, a research firm that specializes in vehicle safety issues.
Claybrook, former NHTSA Administrator, asked her former agency to use its subpoena power to get documents from law suits that Ford and Firestone has managed to conceal for years by insisting on secrecy agreements before settling law suits that have been filed. She called on Ford and Firestone to abandon their claims of confidentially on all information they have provided NHTSA and are due to provide today.
Turner, who first sued Ford and Firestone on this issue in 1993 because of a Firestone tire failure that caused a Ford Explorer to roll over, called on Ford and Firestone to stop playing statistical games with peoples lives. They need to tell the American people exactly how many tires have failed and how many deaths and injuries have occurred from Wilderness tires other than those that were recalled. Then let the American people decide whether they want to take those statistical risks with their lives and the lives of their loved ones," Turner said. To date, Firestone has yet to release its data regarding tire failures where no injury or property damage were reported. "We need this information to statistically establish the potential danger of these tires," as he cited documents released by the tire manufacturer just days earlier that excluded this information. Turner is Safetyforum.com's "Attorney of Record" for tires.
Hoar, reported that Safetyforum.com has had more than a million hits in the last two weeks. People are expressing outrage about Ford and Firestone's failure to be accountable for their products. He said that the purpose of Safetyforum.com is to empower individuals and organizations to press for safer products.
Kane, charged that Ford and Firestone have failed to explain why environmental conditions and usage patterns affect one size tire and not the others.
Contact:
Ralph Hoar, Safetyforum.com (08/14/00)
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