Man sues tire maker over wife's death

How old are your tires? You may want to check after you read this story.

A Tampa woman, Jessica Michel, died in a roll-over crash in June 2008, and left behind a husband and three small children, ages 6, 4, and 1. 

Attorneys for her family say the crash happened due to an aging rear tire that blew out on their Lexus S-U-V.
"She means the world to me, not just me but the kids too. I think about her everyday. And you know we all miss her. The kids ask a lot everyday, especially my daughter," the victim's husband Don Michel said.

In their lawsuit, they say the tire was six years old when it was installed on the SUV, even though it was sold as a new tire.
Lawyers say a tire that age may look new, but it degrades over time and the Florida heat makes it happen faster, weakening the tire.

"They should've made the owner of the vehicle, the purchaser of the tire aware of what he was putting on his vehicle, and what the risks were, that as a tire ages it degrades," said Leslie Kroeger, an attorney with Leopold-Kuvin in Palm Beach Gardens.
The suit names Goodyear, a Tampa auto repair shop that sold and installed the tire, and Toyota which made the Lexus SUV. They told us they don't comment on pending litigation.

Lawyers advise a tire starts to degrade the moment it leaves the factory, due to the interaction of oxygen and rubber. They suggest that when shopping for a tire, try to find one that has been manufactured in the past 12 months.   Kroeger says some states have a law that requires the retailer to tell the customer the date the tire was made and to warn them about the risks associated with aging tires.  Florida does not have such a law.