He said the companies could be exposing themselves to further legal claims if Firestone continued supplying tires to Ford to keep Explorer production lines up, instead of meeting the recall needs first. The tire maker said yesterday that satisfying customer concerns was its first priority, but added that it was also continuing to send tires to Ford. Such seeming conflicts are likely to figure prominently in the legal battles to come, lawyers say. They typically argue that blowouts were caused by poor maintenance, underinflation or road debris. The companies have resisted efforts by plaintiffs' lawyers to gather and share evidence, arguing that tires and vehicles differ so much that each case is essentially unlike any other.
Most cases end in settlements in which the defendants demand that the records be sealed.
That's why cars come with backups, and it's the only component like that. It's now an issue of what they knew and when they knew it.