Jury Awards $16 Million To Driver In Goodyear Tire Trial
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan jury has returned a $16 million verdict in favor of an Ohio man who blamed a tire for a crash that left him paralyzed.
Half the figure represents past and future suffering. But attorney Craig Hilborn says the amount likely will be reduced because of Michigan's product liability limits and other factors.
Hilborn represents Harry Patel of Montpelier, Ohio, whose Nissan Pathfinder flipped in Berrien County in 2012. Lawyers for Goodyear Tire & Rubber said the tire was not defective and that it likely hit something, causing tread separation.
The verdict was returned earlier this week following a two-week trial.
The tire was made at a Goodyear factory in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The 59-year-old Patel was living in South Bend, Indiana, at the time of the crash.
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