Novak

*326 *192 Plaintiff Paula J. Novak appeals defense summary judgments in her wrongful death action against a tire manufacturer, Continental Tire North America (Continental), and an auto mechanic, Chi Tai (collectively defendants). Plaintiff alleges defendants failed to warn about the dangers of rubber degradation in old tires, which led to a tire blowout in 2005 that injured her father. Plaintiff further alleges that those injuries impaired his mobility, necessitated his use of a motorized scooter with limited maneuverability, and led to his death in 2011 after his scooter was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk. The trial court found the evidence insufficient to establish a causal link between defendants' conduct alleged to have caused one traffic accident and decedent's death years later following a separate traffic accident. We shall affirm the defense judgments.

Background

In September 2005, 81-year-old Alex Novak was seriously injured when the car in which he was a passenger suffered a tire blowout and collided with *193 a power pole. 1 Novak filed an action for strict product liability and negligence against defendants for failure to warn that tires degrade with age and…