In Ramon, New Mexico, three Navajo Indian children lost their mother when she was killed during an accident involving a tire failure and subsequent rollover. Florida product liability attorneys Donald R. Fountain and W. Hampton Keen were admitted to practice law in New Mexico to help them, as well as another Navajo Indian catastrophically injured in the same accident. Initially, the responsibility for the defective tire appeared be only that of the manufacturer; however, Fountain and Keen determined that while the vehicle was in the selling dealer’s possession, a good spare tire had been substituted with the defective tire that failed. On the eve of trial, the tire manufacturer and the seller of the vehicle each settled the case.
Thanks to the efforts of Fountain and Keen, the three children will be cared for financially for the future, and will have the opportunity to attend college. Additionally, the other woman catastrophically injured in the accident will be able to get the care she will need for the rest of her life.