A jury ruled that Sears, Roebuck & Co. was negligent in not warning a Fresno, Calif., man about a bad tire, but the retail operation did not cause “substantial harm” resulting in a horrific freeway crash four years ago.

On June 11, 2010, Brandon Horn’s left rear tire on his 2002 Volkswagen Jetta lost its tread, causing his car to flip off Highway 180 near Fowler Avenue east of Fresno. Horn, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered major head and spinal injuries after the Jetta rolled down an embankment and landed on its roof.

Horn sued Sears for more than $3.5 million for lost wages, medical bills and pain. His attorney, Roger A. Dreyer, told local media the jury got it wrong and he plans to motion for a new trial.

The case claimed employees a Sears in Fresno were negligent for not telling Horn to replace the left rear tire before it fell apart. Horn went to Sears twice in 2009.

On Jan. 2, 2009, he bought two new tires for his Jetta and Sears’ workers put them on the front axle, Dreyer said. The technician noted in his work order that the rear tires were “cupped,” but the employees did not mention this to Horn.

Horn returned to the Sears store on July 29, 2009, when the tread on the Jetta’s right rear tire began to separate. A worker who had been on the job less than two months sold him one tire and never recommended replacing the other rear tire.

Dreyer said Sears’ employees broke company policy when they failed to tell Horn to replace the worn left rear tire that was nearly six years old. Eleven months later, while Horn was traveling 65 mph on the highway the tread of the left rear tire began to separate and Horn crashed.

Attorney Kenneth C. Ward, who represented Sears, said employees had no clue the left rear tire was worn out because “there was no outward sign that anything was wrong with it.”

It wasn’t until after the crash that an X-ray revealed the tire wasn’t good, he said. In addition, the left rear tire wasn’t a Sears’ tire, Ward told the jury.