Uploaded August 2018 | Updated September 2026, 21 hours ago
Jonathan Halperin and Jay Halpern returned a $37.8M verdict to the driver of a concrete mixer who suffered catastrophic injuries after a defective tire exploded, causing his truck to smash into an embankment and flip over with enough force to knock the truck’s mixing bowl off the truck frame.
The Plaintiff was paralyzed from the chest down with spinal fractures in his neck and thoracic region. He also suffered a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, and fractures to his collarbone, ribs, and forearm. Today, the 53-year-old veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield has extreme difficulty holding food in his hand and uses a special device to drink. An expert testified that his life expectancy had been shortened by 11½ years.
The tire manufacturer argued that there were no inherent defects in its tires, and the victim was to blame for ignoring cuts in the tire, hitting a pothole, and failing to properly handle the vehicle after the tire blew. $4M was the highest amount the Defense was willing to offer.
Mr. Halperin and Mr. Halpern needed to show jurors that the tire broke apart and exploded because of two manufacturing defects that turned the tire into “a ticking time bomb.” They also needed jurors to understand why these negligent acts clearly and directly contributed to the tire’s explosion. Our forensic team was tasked with building an animation that would achieve the following visual objectives:
Introduce the tire’s anatomy to build context for the defective liner.
Establish that the tire manufacturer made its inner liners too thin.
Show how the tire’s inner liner also displayed evidence of imprints from its fabric backing during storage - a clear indicator that the tire had not completely bonded and should have been scrapped by the manufacturer.
Demonstrate how neglecting these two points resulted in an inner liner that would allow oxygen to permeate into the tire, causing degradation to its physical properties until it suddenly and catastrophically failed.
Reinforce these points with photographic evidence showing unmistakable evidence of oxidation and degradation.
The following animation helped Plaintiff attorneys convince the jury to compensate their client with a $37.8M verdict.
View the entire Case Study:
highimpact.com/case-studies/37.8m-verdict-animating-product-defects-after-tire-explodes
Jonathan Halperin and Jay Halpern returned a $37.8M verdict to the driver of a concrete mixer who suffered catastrophic injuries after a defective tire exploded, causing his truck to smash into an embankment and flip over with enough force to knock the truck’s mixing bowl off the truck frame.
The Plaintiff was paralyzed from the chest down with spinal fractures in his neck and thoracic region. He also suffered a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, and fractures to his collarbone, ribs, and forearm. Today, the 53-year-old veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield has extreme difficulty holding food in his hand and uses a special device to drink. An expert testified that his life expectancy had been shortened by 11½ years.
The tire manufacturer argued that there were no inherent defects in its tires, and the victim was to blame for ignoring cuts in the tire, hitting a pothole, and failing to properly handle the vehicle after the tire blew. $4M was the highest amount the Defense was willing to offer.
Mr. Halperin and Mr. Halpern needed to show jurors that the tire broke apart and exploded because of two manufacturing defects that turned the tire into “a ticking time bomb.” They also needed jurors to understand why these negligent acts clearly and directly contributed to the tire’s explosion. Our forensic team was tasked with building an animation that would achieve the following visual objectives:
Introduce the tire’s anatomy to build context for the defective liner.
Establish that the tire manufacturer made its inner liners too thin.
Show how the tire’s inner liner also displayed evidence of imprints from its fabric backing during storage - a clear indicator that the tire had not completely bonded and should have been scrapped by the manufacturer.
Demonstrate how neglecting these two points resulted in an inner liner that would allow oxygen to permeate into the tire, causing degradation to its physical properties until it suddenly and catastrophically failed.
Reinforce these points with photographic evidence showing unmistakable evidence of oxidation and degradation.
The following animation helped Plaintiff attorneys convince the jury to compensate their client with a $37.8M verdict.
View the entire Case Study:
highimpact.com/case-studies/37.8m-verdict-animating-product-defects-after-tire-explodes
