FEATURE/Watts & Heard, LLP Representing Texas Family; Anniversary of Bridgestone/Firestone Recall on Eve of Major South Texas Trial

    MCALLEN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--Aug. 10, 2001--As the one-year anniversary of Bridgestone/Firestone's first "voluntary" recall of millions of tires is observed, the members of a South Texas family, devastated in a Bridgestone/Firestone tire de-treading incident, expectantly await their day in court, according to Mikal Watts, the lead attorney in their case. Meanwhile, he added, hundreds if not thousands of other victims keep a close watch for the results.
    The suit alleges that four members of the Rodriguez family were severely injured after experiencing a tread failure in a Firestone Wilderness AT tire on March 9, 2000. Marisa Rodriguez, the mother of three young children, suffered a severe brain injury and is expected to be profoundly handicapped for life. Five months after the tragedy, on August 9, 2000, the Bridgestone/Firestone recall was announced.
    The Texas law firm of Watts & Heard, LLP, led by senior partners Mikal Watts and Denman Heard, heads up the Rodriguez family's trial team. The trial will be the first major case to get before a jury in the long and continuing Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Explorer drama.
    Ricardo A. Garcia of McAllen and Tab Turner of Turner and Associates from Little Rock, Ark., who have been involved in numerous other similar cases, also represent the Rodriguez family.
    Watts, the Corpus Christi attorney who earlier this year secured from Ford and Firestone what has been reported to be one of the largest individual personal injury settlements ever made, is the lead trial attorney in the case. Donna Bailey, the victim in that case, was rendered a quadriplegic. Following her agreement to settle the case, she received a personal visit from Ford executives and a letter of condolence from the CEO of Firestone. However, numerous other incidents in which Firestone de-treads and Explorer defects have been alleged occurred before and since Donna Bailey's incident.
    The jury is selected in Rodriguez vs. Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone and has been ordered to report for opening arguments on Monday, August 13, 2001 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division. Last Monday, Federal District Judge Filemon B. Vela refused to send the case back to Texas State Court, promised the Rodriguez family they would get their day in court and ordered jury selection to begin the next day.

    For more information, contact WATTS & HEARD, L.L.P., 361/887-0500 or Toll Free: 888/887-0560 or visit www.watts-heard.com.