TV Reports Allege Cooper Tire Suit Evidence Issues

(Akron/Tire Review) Television news reports in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Detroit over the last week allege that Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. hired an ex-convict to investigate some allegedly tyre-related accidents on its behalf, collect evidence and deliver the accident site evidence to Cooper headquarters in Findlay, Ohio. In the televised reports, Cooper denied that its tyres are faulty or are to blame in tread separation accidents.

Some of the accusations stem from an active lawsuit filed against Cooper by the family of a woman killed in a vehicle rollover accident they claim was caused by tread separation.

The news reports claim that the victim’s attorney interviewed a man who claimed to have been retained by Cooper as an accident scene investigator, despite the fact that he admits having no investigative experience and previously served time in jail for insurance fraud and grand theft.

The victim’s attorneys say that key pieces of physical evidence from crash scenes have disappeared, and claim the investigator collected the evidence and delivered it to Cooper. A high ranking Cooper executive, according to the reports, admitted the company retained the “investigator,” but claimed he was used to collect evidence before weather conditions destroyed its value or the evidence was otherwise lost of damaged.

The tyremaker denies hiding any physical evidence in cases.