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Suit settled against Continental Tire for defective tire that led to caused catastrophic injuries

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Attorneys, Edward Ricci and Theodore Leopold partners in the law firm of Ricci ~ Leopold announced that a favorable settlement has been reached in a case filed against Continental Tire and Al Packer Ford on behalf of their client Fremond Jean & Marie Baptiste.

On October 31, 2001, Charles H. Peirre-Louis an employee of Environmental Care, Inc., of West Palm Beach, was driving northbound on the Florida turnpike in a company leased Ford F-150 pick-up truck. Fremond Jean Baptiste, also an environmental employee, was a retrained passenger in the truck.

The Ford truck was equipped with a Continental 550AS Tire. Continental manufactured this particular model of tire for Ford.

As the Ford F-150 was traveling northbound on the Florida Turnpike, the Ford truck suddenly and unexpectedly experienced tread-belt separation and a tire blow out. The tire failure caused the driver of the truck to loose control of the vehicle ultimately causing the truck to rollover. During the rollover, Mr. Baptiste was partially ejected and pinned under the truck. As a result of the accident, Fremond Jean Baptiste suffered serious catastrophic injuries including Paraplegia. Evidence showed that the vehicle was properly operated and that the driver did all he could to keep the truck under control. However, “it was the tire that led to the vehicle rollover,” stated Ed Ricci. “Like the Firestone Wilderness tires, we believe the evidence strongly supported that the Ameri *550AS Tires under certain environmental conditions, namely hot weather, would suffer catastrophic failure. Unfortunately, that is what happened here,” said Leopold.

The settlement that we reached with Continental Tire will assist in relief of some of the financial burden, however the physical injuries that Mr. Baptiste sustained and will continue to be challenged by, will be with him for the rest of his life. It is important to recognize that this case was not only about the plaintiff's injuries and losses, but public safety as a whole. We hope that the dangers of this particular model of Continental Tire has been exposed,” Ricci explained.

Defective Tires Cause Catastrophic Injuries - Suit ends in settlement for plaintiff (2) Edward M. Ricci and Theodore J. Leopold are partners in the law firm of Ricci ~Leopold, P.A. The firm founded in 1982, has six attorneys and is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices located at 1645 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. Additional information about Ricci ~Leopold may be obtained from the firm's website at www.riccilaw.com . A copy of the original complaint filed in July of 2002, is available on the firm's website under “News, Updates & Newsletter”/”Legal Updates & Complaints” - Title of complaint: Fremond Jean Baptiste, et al. vs. Continental Tire North America, Inc. et al.