Man
Gets $717,000 in Injury Case
Gloucester Daily Times
By Tom Lane
A local man has been awarded $717,000 for an injury he suffered when a light truck tire exploded and damaged his wrist.
The tire exploded on April 28, 1982, when John S. Marchant was mounting it on his truck, according to attorney Joseph M. Orlando.
Last week, a U.S. District Court jury awarded Marchant $600,000, plus $117,000 in interest, to be paid by the company that made the tire, Dayston Tire and Rubber Co., a division of Firestone, Orlando said.
Orlando said Marchant received a "crush injury to his right wrist" when the tire he was inflating blew up. No bones were broken, but nerve and muscle damage caused pain that required surgery, according to Orlando.
The operation at Massachusetts General Hospital fused bones in the joint of his wrist so that Marchant can no longer use that hand for some tasks, Orlando said.
The attorney said Marchant is able to do some work with heavy machinery
but that he's now limited.
Orlando said attorney Joseph Papetti, the Orlando & Associates lawyer
who tried the case, was able to show the jury that Marchant was inflating
the tire properly, that the bead design of the tires was defective, and
that the company knew the tires were defective.
All American-made tires are defective, according to Orlando. He said that foreign-made Michelin tires do not have a problem.
"It's a landmark decision against American tire makers. They will now have to pay for damages, and will be forced to correct the defect. This decision will mean safer tires for everyone," said Orlando.
The lawyer for Firestone, Donald Woods of Murphey and Mitchell on Boston, refused to comment.
Orlando & Associates
One Western Avenue
Gloucester, MA 01930
(978) 283 - 8100
fax: (978) 283- 8507
email: firm@orlandoassociates.com
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