91ÊÓƵ

April 8, 1999 8:58 AM, EDT

A Florida appeals court ordered a new trial for a truck driver who won $30.4 million from Michelin Tire Co. after he lost his legs in a crash.

Julian Lovett had to have his legsamputated at the knees after the left front tire of his tractor-trailer blew out, sending him careening into a ditch.

Lovett argued that the crash was caused by the tire’s poor design, which allowed water to seep into the tire and erode it.

The Fourth District Court of Appeals in West Palm Beach, Fla., said Michelin attorneys should have been allowed to remove a woman from the jury pool whose daughter had been involved in a crash caused by a Michelin tire blow out.