While traveling Northbound on I-15 near Box Elder, 59 year old Arthur Baca (Clearfield), was involved in a fatal car accident. After his tire blew out, KSL News reports, he lost control of the vehicle which ended in a violent collision with the median after first rolling over the hood. The driver was not the only person in the vehicle. Helena Baca, 58, was taken to the hospital with back injuries; her condition is still unknown.

I offer my condolences to the family and friends of both Arthur and Helena, with hopes of a fast and full recovery for Helena.

When a tire blows out like this, there are lots of questions as to how this might have happened. Did the driver hit something in the road? Was the tire overheating because of low inflation? Was the tire bald? Or were there defects in the tire that were hidden and could not be known about until it was too late? If there was a defect in the tire when it was manufactured, there could be a “products liability” case against the maker of the tire. There are a number of things that could go wrong in a factory that could cause a tire to later fail. A preliminary inspection of the tire by a qualified tire expert could help pinpoint the source of the tire’s failure. The family will want to secure the tire in a safe place so it can be later looked at.

I would recommend that the family contact an experienced Utah attorney to find out what remedies might be available in this case.

Only a few days remain until the popular manufacturer of outdoor of camping equipment, Coleman, will face the music in a case that has been dragging on for almost 4 years. It was back in December of 2005 when 7-year old Trevor Dennis was seriously and permanently injured by a Coleman heater that Trevor’s family used to keep a camping trailer warm.

According to experts, the heater was defective and malfunctioned and caught the whole trailer on fire, with young Trevor inside. Coleman advertised that their family-friendly product would keep a space at the perfect temperature, hence the name PerfecTemp. They claimed that the heater provided “flameless warmth outdoors or in spaces like a tent or home.”

What they didn’t tell the consumer, or the Dennis family, however, was about all the problems that other consumers had experienced with this line of heaters, including multiple complaints, warranty claims and fires. They subsequently sold the heater to the Dennis family, as well as many other families, without fixing the problem or, at a minimum, proving this crucial warning.

Trevor is now eleven-years old and requires around-the-clock care because of the severe burns he received that night. The trial, which is set to start November 2, 2009 in Orange County, California, will be the one opportunity that Trevor has at getting justice for what happened to him. He is represented by Bisnar & Chase, California personal injury lawyers experienced at getting justice for those injured by dangerous product defects.

The trial will also be the one opportunity that a jury will have to let Coleman know, through full and fair compensation to Trevor, that Coleman has the sacred responsibility to safeguard the safety of those who put their trust in the company’s products. By the jury’s full and fair verdict, the jury will speak loudly to Coleman that it is unacceptable to sell defective products that endangers the public, especially small children, and if that bad product hurts someone, then they will be held accountable for all the harm that follows.