PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia jury has returned an $11.7 million verdict against a Pennsylvania concrete products company in a lawsuit involving an accident caused by allegedly defective retread tire on one of the company's trucks.
The jury before the Philadelphia County for the Court of Common Pleas returned the verdict Oct. 3 against Silvi Concrete Products. The decision was for compensatory damages plus interest, according to a press release from Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball L.L.P., the law firm that represented plaintiff Shanika Lakiya Brown.
Fairless Hills, Pa.-based Silvi was the last remaining defendant in the case, according to Kyle Farrar, who represented Ms. Brown in court along with his partner Wes Ball. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Bridgestone Bandag and McCarthy Tire Service all settled with Ms. Brown, he said.
Silvi settled on punitive damages after the verdict, so the case essentially is concluded, Mr. Farrar said. The terms of the settlement agreements are confidential.
Ms. Brown's arm was severed in a multi-vehicle crash caused by a Silvi truck, an accident that also cost Ms. Brown's infant daughter her leg, according to the press release.
Ms. Brown's lawsuit alleged that a Bridgestone L315 tire on the truck, retreaded by McCarthy Tire using Bridgestone Bandag technology, was defective and caused the accident.
"The corporate defendants began to settle separately once appellate issues were resolved in the plaintiffs' favor at the beginning of the trial," the press release said.
In a statement, Bridgestone said it settled to avoid the expenses of a projected eight-week trial and years of appellate litigation. The settlement should not be taken as an admission of liability, the tire maker said.
"The tire line at issue has an exemplary track record," Bridgestone said. "In fact, this was the first and only claim involving a Bridgestone L315 truck tire."
The tire in question was in service for more than seven years and had operated safely under severe conditions for thousands of miles, the tire maker said.
Houston-based Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball considers itself a "nationwide leader in tire-related litigation."