Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County

there was a sudden explosion. By the time Kirby
reached him, Harlee was lying on the ground, his
head bleeding and his body shaking
uncontrollably. Kirby thought Harlee was dying.
“The station attendant called an ambulance,
and Harlee’s life was saved, but his future and
that of his family became a nightmare,” Adams
says. “I was faced with a serious dilemma. I had
only a few weeks before the statute of
limitations would forever bar the Williams
family from filing a products liability lawsuit
against the seller and manufacturer of the
unreasonably dangerous two-piece truck wheel.
The vehicle was a 1962 model manufactured by
General Motors, and both it and the wheel that
had exploded had been scrapped. Eventually, I
was able to get Kirby to locate a wheel ‘exactly
like’ the one that had exploded.”
Intensive research revealed that the industry
had designated the two-piece truck wheel as
“RH5.” And it had been nicknamed “The Widow
Maker” for its propensity to suddenly and
unexpectedly separate during tire inflation or
while driving, Adams says. This research
revealed that numerous people had been injured
or killed by these hazardous wheels.
Although General Motors had manufactured
the vehicle, Adams did not know whether
the wheels were the ones original to the
truck. He found that several manufacturers,
including Firestone, Kelsey Hayes, and Bud,
made the “RH5” wheels. Because of the time
crunch, he had no alternative other than to sue
General Motors, Firestone, Kelsey Hayes, and
Bud, who immediately hired some of the state’s
biggest and best law firms to defend themselves.
“It is a rare case, indeed, in which a plaintiff
contends that a product was defective but is
unable to produce the defective product for
inspection and analysis to determine the
manufacturer, whether it was built to
specifications, and whether it was misused in
the market place,” Adams says.
Despite this inherent difficulty and the “David
and Goliath” aspects of the parties involved,
Adams was able to represent the Harlee family
successfully and obtain the damages to which
the plaintiff was justly entitled as compensation
for the injury he suffered.
The Law Offices of Gilbert T. Adams is
located at 1855 Calder Avenue at Third
Street in Beaumont and on the Internet at
www.gta-law.com.
❖
Left: Gilbert T. Adams, Jr., in action.
Below: Gilbert T. Adams, Jr., in front
of the Jefferson County Courthouse.
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