18 Wheeler Tire Hit My Car

[vipergtsr1000hp]

So long story short, a 18 wheeler tire blew out and hit my car, damaging the front bumper, fender, tow hook/slight frame damage if any, and splash shields/fender cover. I followed the guy and got a police report with the guy's trucking insurance. After a couple of weeks, the insurance company states they are not responsible for the tire blow out because the driver did a pre-trip inspection and says the tires were good and there was no sign that it was going to blow. They also state they are not responsible for something in the roadway that causes the tire to blow. I'm like wtf the tire beside the blown tire has like no thread on the outsides and the remaining thread on the blown tire is bald. You can clearly see in the pics. I tell them this may because of improper recapped/rethreaded tires or that the driver just didn't really inspect the tires. They reply back that the tire are DOT legal. I reply back saying wtf does that has to do with the bald/questionable tires. They reply back with, "Our appraiser said the tread looked fine and legal for the road. When the driver inspects the tire they make sure the tread is good and if there are any defects. Since the tread was fine and no defects then our insureds are not responsible for any blows." Now I don't even know wtf to do. I know a friend who is an lawyer and deals with mostly automotive collisions and say I should bring this to a small court case. He says I should get the money from the insurance if I state my reasons and show the evidence. Tell my what you guys think after looking at these pictures of the tires.

[Frank_Jaeger]

They might not have deliberately caused the blow out but I fail to see how they're not at fault when a piece of their vehicle hit yours, no matter what.

That outside tire looks weird. Is that a retread?

[vipergtsr1000hp]

The driver told me that they might be rethreaded but the trucking company or insurance company won't give a clear answer except they are DOT legal. I honestly could tell there is something wierd with the tire and shouldn't pass the driver's inspection. Whatever the case I will talk to the insurance guy again but they are so hard to reach even when I leave voicemails and emails. I will most likely bring it to court and pay the fee to open a case. Should be worth it. Costs $80 I believe which I don't mind paying even if I lose the case to see first hand who is really at fault for a tire blowout.

[Frank_Jaeger]

I just realized that all those flaps of tire you see on the highway are retreads that have come apart.

[vipergtsr1000hp]

That's what I figured. How should I approach them with respect to the re-threads being the fault of the tire blowing as you can see on the other tire. Driver really should've questioned the integrity of the re-threaded tire. I know for sure a regular tire shouldn't do this unless alignment issues and even then it wouldn't look like that tire.

[5280VertDET]

Most trucking companies and drivers have maintenance reports, for tires and such, if this gets ugly and they're missing logs or inspections, then it could help you out. Usually your insurance company will do the investigation against the company/drivers insurance.

Also, I believe that you can only retread a tire a certain number of times. Some places selling retreads blatantly ignore this.

[vipergtsr1000hp]

Yea all they said was they just got a copy of the driver's pre-trip inspections logs from the day of the accident. I just have liability and don't know for sure if it is worth it for them to investigate. I will most likely have to do this though if I need further investigation/evidence. My friend who is lawyer just told me to bring it to a small case court because he can see that the pictures do show evidence of being worn and not safe especially the tire beside the blown one which looks like it may blow anytime soon. He says it will depend on the judge. I mean if the traffic state trooper said most likely the trucking company's insurance will pay for the damage because they are at fault regardless of debris on the road. I'm guess the trooper is implying that the "stationary" debris on the road should have been avoided by the trucker if that is was caused the blowout if they want to get all technical with it. I will contact their insurance one last time and if they don't pay, I will bring it to court.

[Extreme Dimensions]

Ya, companies equipment damaged your property and you got pictures? Time for them to step up and fix your car.

[spooled240]

They should know that the inspections are there to determine if the vehicle is road-worthy and don't guarantee that things won't fail. They also don't provide immunity from insurance claims. It's a fucking truck things break lmao.

[xlamontx]

Get 3 estimates and keep records for all your cost and expenses this incident has put upon you. Make sure (find out if) the trailer is owned by the same people that own the truck pulling it. Sue them both if different and the driver too. They should all be named in the law suit. Perhaps you tooks pics of all the tires on the truck and trailer and their date codes if possible. Pics of lights and mud flaps broken or missing would also speak to overall condition of equipment. Find out if by law you are entitled to driver log records and inspection reports for all seven days prior to incident. May help to see if the driver is lazy or inaccurate on the paperwork, he is likey the same with his actual inspections. Most truck tires fail from under inflation. Particularly on hot days at interstate speeds. Few drivers check inflation with a gauge. They usually thump them with a hammer or tire thumper if they bother checking at all. I doubt any tire manufacturer will say "thumping" is an acceptable way to check for safe operating minimum inflation pressure. If they have a terminal close to you, additional pics of their equipment may show a pattern of poor maintenance practices. Most trucking companies have a DOT safety rating based on roadside inspections, drivers placed out of service, accidents, tickets, etc. and if you can get theirs from your states DOT it may help a judge determine thier liability. Take nothing I wrote as advice, it's just my opinion from the point of what I would do. Good luck.

PS, the outter tire "looks" like it use to be a steer tire that was moved to the trailer which is legal but would also mean it's not likely a recap.

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[exitspeed]

I'd lawyer up if I were you. They can basically dick you around forever if they feel like it, wasting all kinds of your time. Get a GOOD, reputable local attorney and have them file a claim. It'll let them know you're serious and they're likely to settle. It gives YOU the power, instead of them.

And there are inexpensive attorneys (Better Call Sauls of the world) that take care of this kinda stuff all day. It'll probably be a reasonable flat fee. I used to have a traffic attorney in my younger days that I'd pay $75 and he'd get all my points dropped (preventing my license from being revoked) from a big ticket and usually the fine reduced AND I didn't have to even go to court. That was like $75.

This situation might be more, but probably worth it.


EDIT: AND that's my 20,000 POST! Some old man advice! Woot.

[xlamontx]

Let me add one more thing. I mentioned using a tire gauge to properly check a tire pressure, but to the best of my knowledge, the daily inspections do not require the use of a gauge. The inspection is visual and the thump to check basic inflation was accepted back when I was tested 27 years ago. Most drivers only check the 70-80% of the visible tire on their initial walk around. If the driver doesn't move the truck 3-4 feet and inspect all the tires again, the driver can not claim to have inspected 100% of the tires he is responsible to check. In the off chance he was hauling Hazmat plaques on the side of the trailer, tire checks are required every 200 miles.

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[supersayianjim]

sue the fuck out of them!

[!Zar!]

Why don't you have your insurance go after them?

[vipergtsr1000hp]

Thanks guy for all the advice. Yesterday I sent a very serious email saying I will contact an attorney if they do not want to pay for it. Most likely I won't be able to do my own personal investigation so I will have to leave that for the attorney. I would contact my insurance to see what they are capable of doing but it depends on the trucking company's response.

[di-devol]

Thanks guy for all the advice. Yesterday I sent a very serious email saying I will contact an attorney if they do not want to pay for it. Most likely I won't be able to do my own personal investigation so I will have to leave that for the attorney. I would contact my insurance to see what they are capable of doing but it depends on the trucking company's response.

Should just let your insurance know what happened. They will go after them, that's the point of insurance.

[silverarrow27]

I have a feeling the insurance companies are going to "total" your car. Good luck though.

[vipergtsr1000hp]

Well, their insurance guy emailed me back. I figured he call me back but I guess he doesn't want to talk over the phone. This is what he says, "This is where we stand, if you feel you need to get an attorney that’s fine. You can then forward him/her my info and please have him/her write us a letter of rep. Otherwise you can go thru your insurance and they can take it to arbitration." The reason I did not contact my insurance is because I have liability only and I don't know if they will do anything really. But as someone suggested I could still contact my insurance and tell them the situation and see what their response. No harm done. Other than that, my friend tells me an attorney wouldn't want to represent me because their were no medical injuries so there is no worth in it, figures. But, my brother who a passenger has been complaining about lower back issues ever since the incident, you can imagine a 18 wheeler tire hitting the car at 55+ mph on the passenger side. I just never reported that because I did not know if their insurance would take blame and pay for it. But my friend suggest if I actually go that route, that someone would definitely represent me. I'll give my insurance a call and update you guys after. Again, thanks for all the help.

[spooled240]

I would go through insurance. Liability should still cover you since it wasn't your fault. The only thing it doesn't cover is your own car when it is your fault.

You got the truck's info so it wasn't a hit and run either in which case you are usually SOL with liability.