The Cooper Firm

Hall v. Ford and Continental General Tire
Garza v. Ford and Continental General Tire
Rupp v. Ford and Continental General Tire
Vanelli v. Ford and Continental General Tire
Stanger v. Ford and Continental General Tire

In each of these cases, we represented the family members of people who died when a General Tire tread separated on a Ford Bronco II, and the Bronco II rolled over. Through a nationwide investigation, the firm uncovered evidence of at least 33 other similar accidents involving these same defective products. We were also consulted and quoted by the national news media - including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times - regarding evidence the firm had developed showing that the tire company had covered up defects in its tires from the federal government and had conducted a silent recall of its tires.

The firm's relentless determination and discovery of wrongdoing led to significant confidential settlements for each of its clients. The Hall and Garza cases settled during trial.

Yabuku v. Bridgestone/Firestone

Eleven year old Italia Hines was severely injured when a Firestone Wilderness AT tire suffered a tread separation, causing the vehicle she was in to lose control and roll over. The firm represented Italia through her parents and sued Firestone for defects in the tire that led to the separation. The confidential settlement we negotiated for Italia will help to compensate her for her injuries and provide a significant stream of income for her in the future.

Woods v. Ford, Continental General Tire, JR's Tires, and Sam's Club

The Woods family was returning from a church campout in their Bronco II when the General Grabber tire on the left rear blew out. Fermy Woods, who was driving, could not control the Bronco II, which rolled over. Fermy's husband and one of her three sons died in the wreck. In addition to exposing the inherent defects in the vehicle and the tire, the firm determined that the tire failure was due in part to a bad patch job and that the tires put on the vehicle by Sam's Club were larger than the recommended size. By aggressively pursuing all sources of liability, the firm was able to recover a substantial confidential sum for Mrs. Woods and her two surviving sons.

Prenger v. Bridgestone Corporation

Patricia Prenger was returning home from a family vacation when she lost control of her vehicle as a result of a tread separation of the Bridgestone Dueler tire on the left rear of her vehicle. An inspection revealed that a defect caused a lack of adhesion which resulted in the tread separation. In addition, the issue of tire aging became the subject of extensive discovery and investigation in this case. Evidence revealed that vehicle manufacturers have known for some time that steel-belted radial tires can deteriorate over time whether or not they are put in use. This knowledge has led many manufacturers in Europe to instruct consumers not to use tires that are more than six years old. As a result of this incident, Ms. Prenger sustained "a mangled hand with traumatic amputation of the left thumb, left index finger and left ring finger." Ms. Prenger incurred over $33,000.00 in medical expenses. At the time of the incident, Ms. Prenger was employed full-time as a nurse anesthetist. Ms. Prenger originally demanded the sum of $3,500,000.00 to settle her claim. After mediation, the parties subsequently settled the case for a significant confidential amount.