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McALLEN, Texas (CNN) -- The chief executive of Bridgestone/Firestone testified Friday in a $1 billion lawsuit against his company that data indicated the Ford Explorer's design -- not Firestone tires -- caused a string of deadly tread separation rollover accidents.

John Lampe said claims data submitted to the company -- reports of alleged tire defects resulting in injuries or lawsuits -- showed eight times as many claims for tires on Explorers than the same tires on Ford Ranger pickup trucks.

"I'm not looking to fight with Ford, but doggone it, we have to look at the vehicle," he said. "If you want to get to the problem, you have to look at the tire, and you have to look at the Explorer."

The family of Marisa Rodriguez, 41, is suing Bridgestone/Firestone for $1 billion after she was left wheelchair-bound when her family's Explorer overturned on a Mexican highway on March 9, 2000.

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The family reached an out-of-court settlement with Ford in July for a reported $6 million.

The accident took place five months before Firestone announced the recall of 6.5 million 15-inch Wilderness AT, ATX and ATX II tires made at the company's plant in Decatur, Illinois -- where the Rodriguez's tires were made.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has documented 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries linked to tread separation rollover accidents involving Firestone tires and Ford Explorers.

Ford blames the problem on faulty tires. Firestone blames it on design flaws in the popular Explorer. The fallout led the companies to sever their century-old business relationship.

Marisa Rodriguez

Lampe followed Rodriguez to the stand Friday. The mother of three answered her attorney's questions about the accident in one and two-word answers and was not cross-examined. Rodriguez testified what she missed most as a result of her injuries is playing with her children.

Earlier in the day her husband Joel, also a passenger in the Explorer driven by his brother, described his injuries and the accident's effect on his wife and children.

He underwent a lengthy cross-examination in which the defense insinuated his memory of the accident was heavily influenced by his attorneys in the case. Before the settlement with Ford, the defense suggested, he had been more inclined to blame the automaker for the accident.

In his direct testimony, Rodriguez used family photographs to describe his wife before the accident as a happy, active woman who enjoyed painting. Now, he said, she mostly sits at the table or watches television.

"If you compare how she was on March 8 with now, you'll see a lot of changes occur," Rodriguez said. He also said their three children, ages 11, 6 and 3, have become distant and withdrawn, particularly their youngest son, Joel.

"Before the accident, Joel was very close to Marisa, but after the accident he really dropped off," he said.

Rodriguez also testified he did not change or repair any of the tires on the family's Explorer before the accident.

Lampe was the defense's first witness. He said the Bridgestone/Firestone data showed "the majority of [tread] separations happen on the rear tire," which may indicate a vehicle problem.

Tread separation alone should not cause a driver to lose control of the vehicle as has happened in the Explorer rollovers, Lampe said.

Lampe said his company first discovered a problem with tires on the Explorer when it shared its claims data with Ford, which performed a statistical analysis.

"When we got this analysis back from Ford, we saw things we hadn't seen before. We were surprised," he said.

Lampe said it is the responsibility of a vehicle's manufacturer, not Firestone, to make sure the vehicle can safely operate on the company's tires.

"We're not vehicle experts, we're tire experts," he said. "We didn't know enough about the vehicle to say how it would have performed with the tire."

In cross examination, attorney C. Tab Turner asked Lampe if he was critical of the Ford Explorer because it rolls over.

Lampe replied that as he told a Senate hearing on the matter, "you could take all the Firestone tires off all Ford Explorers and they will continue to roll over."

In re-direct questioning, Lampe denied Firestone knew its tires were defective before it launched its massive recall. "I understand that's been implied, and emphatically I say that's not correct," Lampe said.

He cited the fact three top Firestone executives, as well as his own wife, drove Ford Explorers or other SUVs with Wilderness AT tires before the recall.

"Would any of these people let their family or driven themselves in a Ford Explorer with these tires if they thought there was a problem?" Lampe asked, addressing the jury.

The rollover accidents, negative publicity and massive tire recall has hit Bridgestone/Firestone hard, Lampe said.

He said sales are off 50 percent from last year, with factories running at only 70 percent capacity and as many as 1,500 people laid off.

The company's net worth has plunged from $2.4 billion in 1999 to $1.3 billion, and it expects to lose about $500 million this year after a similar loss in 2000, he said.

The Texas case, the first suit against Firestone involving the allegedly faulty tires to go to trial, could go to the jury as early as Saturday or Monday.

-- CNN Producer Carol Yancho contributed to this report.