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From Carol Yancho
CNN Detroit Bureau

McALLEN, Texas (CNN) -- A lawsuit over injuries caused by tread separation in faulty Firestone tires was set for trial Monday in the first case to go before a jury since the company's recall last year.

The family of 40-year-old Marisa Rodriguez filed the lawsuit against the company last year after an accident that left her permanently wheelchair-bound.

Rodriguez, of Pharr, Texas, was a rear-seat passenger in the family's 1998 Ford Explorer when it rolled over in Reynosa, Mexico, on March 9, 2000. Also in the car were her husband, Joel, 42; her 3-year-old son; and her brother-in-law, Jorge Rodriguez.

Jorge Rodriguez was driving the Explorer when the right rear Firestone Wilderness AT tire separated and the vehicle rolled over. All three were injured, although not as severely as Marisa Rodriguez.

Unless an 11th-hour settlement is reached, the case will be heard in a federal court in Texas. The trial comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration considers a mandatory recall of more Firestone tires.

NHTSA has documented 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries linked to tread separation rollover accidents involving the company's tires. NHTSA officials have said they would formally announce their request sometime this month, a year after the company's voluntary recall.

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The accident that injured Marisa Rodriguez occurred just five months before Bridgestone/Firestone Corp. announced it was recalling 6.5 million 15-inch AT, ATX, and ATX II tires manufactured at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois, plant -- where the Rodriguez's tire was made.

The majority of the tires were original equipment on Ford Explorers. Firestone is expected to argue that a design flaw in the Explorer made it more vulnerable to rolling over, contributing to the accidents.

The Rodriguez family had named both Firestone and Ford Motor Co. in its lawsuit, but it settled with Ford in July for an undisclosed amount.

Firestone and Ford face about 400 lawsuits in federal and state courts. The Rodriguez case is the first to have a jury seated.

Firestone could still reach a settlement with the family, said Jill Bratina, spokesperson for Bridgestone/Firestone.

Lawyers for the family were trying to have the case moved back to state court, but said they were pleased with the judge's swiftness and willingness to get the suit to trial.

"We're happy on the anniversary of the recall that we're now ready to proceed with the case," said Ricardo Garcia, one of the attorneys representing the Rodriguez family.

In May, Ford announced it would replace another 13 million Firestone tires in addition to the earlier recall, citing unusually high failure claims rate data. It was at that time that Firestone announced it was severing its nearly 100-year-old business relationship with the automaker.