The lawyers said defects in tyres, including Continental General Tires type 52S, used on Ford vehicles, were linked to the deaths of 18 people.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into the tyres in March 1993, after five fatal accidents were reported.

After it closed the investigation four months later, 13 more people died in vehicle accidents in which the tyres were used, according to ABC News.

The attorneys said the tyre company failed to inform federal investigators about a report by a major tyre distributor about the faulty tyres. However, Continental said it had "cooperated fully" with the investigation.

Meanwhile, in mid-September, Continental announced a voluntary recall by its US subsidiary of approximately 140,000 tyres installed on some 38,000 Ford Lincoln Navigator four-wheel drive vehicles.

In a statement, Continental said that the recalled tyres had not been involved in any fatal accident or serious injury.

Continental's decision to recall the tires was made jointly with Ford, exchanging free of charge the ContiTrac/AS (P245/75R16) tires, according to the group of attorneys.

A small percentage of the tyres had shown a tendency to overheat, causing partial tread separation, the attorneys said.