Mexican Firestone Suits to Include Deaths in GM Vehicles, Lawyers Say

Lawyers for Mexicans suing in the United States over 32 deaths allegedly linked to faulty Firestone tires said Friday that they also have identified almost two dozen deaths involving General Motors Corp. vehicles.

Mexicans are suing Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. in U.S. courts over 32 deaths that allegedly resulted because of accidents caused by Firestone tires on Ford Motor Co.’s Explorer sport-utility vehicle.

But lawyer Rafael Alday of Monterrey firm Servicios Legales Internacionales said the litigation would be extended to include accidents involving GM Suburban SUVs and Silverado pickups.

“We already have recorded 22 deaths and 15 injuries in General Motors vehicles, Suburban and Silverado,” Alday told reporters in Monterrey, Mexico’s northern industrial center.

General Motors could not be reached for comment late Friday.

SLI has been working in coordination with U.S. law firms representing dozens of class-action and individual lawsuits in U.S. courts over at least 119 deaths linked to Firestone tire failures. The tire company, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corp. of Japan, recalled 6.5 million tires in August.

In Mexico, Firestone launched a voluntary recall of 30,000 tires fitted on 6,000 Explorer SUVs. By Oct. 11, the recall was 80% complete, the company said.

Richard Lagarde, a lawyer with U.S. law firm Bianchi & Lagarde, said he was concerned about the pace of the recall and the way the company had informed the public in Mexico.

“I believe the deaths and injuries here in Mexico will be higher than in the United States. We are seeing accidents that took place last month in which people died,” Lagarde said at the same news conference in Monterrey.

He added that his firm had conducted a quick check of Ford Explorers in Mexico City two weeks ago and found that seven out of eight had not had their tires replaced.