In 1977 Firestone recalled of 400,000 tires produced at the Decatur plant. Firestone blamed the problems on the consumer. They said the problems were caused by under inflation and poor maintenance. On October 20, 1978, Firestone recalled over 7 million Firestone 500 tires. Congressional hearings took place in 1978. The tire was found to be defective and the cause of 34 deaths. In May 1980 NHTSA fined Firestone $500,000 USD. At that time was the largest fine imposed on any U.S. corporation. Several lawsuits were settled out of court. The bad publicity hurt the company's sales and share price badly.