What happens when one of your tires explodes? Suddenly, a car becomes unmanageable, and the risk of a collision skyrockets.
Call McCravy, Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy to speak with a Spartanburg car accident lawyer about possible compensation if you were injured in a crash due to a blown tire.
Below, we look at what causes a tire to blow out and examine how much you might receive.
What Causes a Tire Blowout?
Tires are complicated and made up of many different materials, including natural and synthetic rubber, along with nylon and steel. Although a tire looks like one solid piece of rubber, there are many parts—steel belts, bead cores, reinforcing thread, tire tread, and so on. When these parts come apart, you have suffered a tire blowout.
What causes a tire blowout? Let’s look at the main causes.
Overinflation
Although tires are sturdy, they can burst like any other object which has too much air. It is critical that drivers not overinflate their tires.
As a vehicle travels, the air will expand, so a tire that is overinflated will become even more so as you rack up the miles. Furthermore, warmer weather can also expand the air, so the risk of a blowout can increase in the summer.
Underinflation
Surprisingly, underinflation is a bigger problem than overinflation. When a tire is underinflated, more of the tire contacts the road. The sides of a tire are thinner than the tread, and weak spots are more likely to form as you continue to drive on an underinflated tire. Ultimately, air can burst through a weak spot, leading to a blowout.
Punctures
Tiny objects like nails and even rocks can get embedded in a tire, causing air to leak out. This leads to underinflation, which can also lead to increased stress on the tire. When the air comes rushing out, it can burst the tire.
Heavy Loads
Increased weight puts stress on tires, causing them to fail. For this reason, vehicles have a maximum load. We often seek tire blowouts on tractor-trailers which are overloaded to save the trucking company money. But even regular motorists can overload their sedan if they attach a small trailer to it.
Age
Older tires are more prone to blowout because the rubber becomes brittle. Have you ever pulled a rubber band from the back of your junk drawer? You can tell it’s old because the band has lost all flexibility; it’s hard to the touch and crumbles when you try to stretch it.
An old tire is a little like that. The loss of flexibility can lead to blowouts and other tire failures. Most drivers buy new tires when the tread is too worn. But you should swap out old tires after 5 years, regardless of the tread depth.
Uneven Wear
Motorists should rotate their tires so that one spot does not become overly worn. A failure to rotate can lead to weak spots forming where the tread is worn away, which ultimately might fail and lead to a blowout.
Design Flaws
As mentioned above, a tire isn’t a solid piece of rubber. There are many component parts which must be bound tightly together so the tire doesn’t come apart while the vehicle is in motion. Tire defects can make the tire dangerous and prone to a blowout.
Further, vehicles have sensors that monitor tire pressure. Defective sensors can lead to incorrect readings, which increases the risk of over- or underinflation.
We see tire recalls all the time. The manufacturer or even the Department of Transportation (DOT) will issue a recall. Some recent recalls include:
- The DOT recalled certain Bridgestone R123 Ecopia tires in March 2025 because one of the ply belts was applied improperly.
- Tesla recalled 700,000 vehicles due to a faulty pressure monitoring system.
- Continental Tire recalled 94,000 tires in 2021 due to a defect that increased the risk of blowout.
Who Is Responsible for a Tire Blowout?
A vehicle can become instantly uncontrollable after a blowout. A car might jump into oncoming traffic, leading to a head-on collision, or it could simply fly off the road and turn over in a ditch.
Passengers in the car will suffer serious injuries, as can motorists in other vehicles which are struck.
Identifying who is responsible for the blowout is critical. South Carolina accident cases are based on fault. A person will owe you compensation only if they were at fault for the crash. When we pinpoint what caused a tire blowout, we can identify the correct defendant to sue for compensation.
Call our office quickly. Evidence can disappear if you delay unnecessarily. For example, the tire is a critical piece of evidence to determine if it was defective. Ideally, we can inspect the tire or at least look at maintenance records. We also might want to talk with witnesses.
Seeking Compensation for a Tire Blowout Accident
Our law firm can help injured victims determine if they have a right to sue for compensation. The critical issue is fault:
- If you were struck by a car with a blown tire, you should seek compensation. We will investigate to determine fault. The driver could be to blame for overinflating or underinflating a tire, or the tire manufacturer could be at fault.
- If your tire blew out and you crashed, you can’t seek compensation for your own negligence. It’s your responsibility to ensure tires are properly inflated and repaired after damage. However, you could seek compensation for a tire defect.
Accident victims can seek damages for car repairs, medical treatment, pain, mental distress, and lost wages or income. Our firm can negotiate a settlement with a defendant.
Lean On Our Experience for Help
Obtaining compensation for a tire blowout accident is not easy. Many people will deny responsibility.
Motorists will claim they properly inflated their tires, and manufacturers will claim nothing was wrong when the tire left their factory. All you know is you need compensation. Reach out to McCravy, Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy to speak with an experienced Spartanburg car accident lawyer.
We have more than 30 years of experience helping accident victims receive fair compensation for injuries.