SEATTLE (AP) - Meineke Car Care Centers paid $12.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by an Everett woman who alleged a safety inspection missed a malfunctioning tire that caused a crash and nearly killed her two days later, according to her attorney.
The Meineke franchise told Janyce “Fi” MacKenzie that the tires of her Ford Explorer were checked when she visited the shop for maintenance in April and August of 2016, said her attorney, Lawrence Kahn.
MacKenzie, 56, was driving on I-90 in Montana on August 4, 2016, when the tire suddenly tore apart and she lost control of the SUV, Kahn said, the Everett Herald reported.
She was thrown from the vehicle as it rolled over, sustaining a traumatic brain injury that put her in a coma for about a week and a leg injury that permanently confined her to a wheelchair.
“The corporation that caused her devastating injuries, to this day, has not accepted responsibility for the wreck that occurred five years ago,” said Kahn. “She implores Meineke and all other tire centers to not just give lip service to doing a safety inspection - to make sure that this doesn’t happen to somebody else.
Attorneys for Meineke did not return phone calls requesting comment. Court records show the company has denied negligence and other allegations from the lawsuit, filed by MacKenzie in King County Superior Court in 2018.
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