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6 months is a long time if the calipers were indeed sticking. The brakes may have been fine when you took it in for an inspection, but a sticky caliper could ruin the pads/rotors in as little as 2-3 months. My girlfriend's car wore down a new set of pads in as little as 8 months because the auto parts store gave us rotors that were too short of a diameter, which caused the bottom half of the pads to wear down to the metal while the top half was untouched. I have found it hard to take my car in for brake checks, and have since learned to just check the pad thickness and rotor condition myself. I strongly believe that the bottom line is this: If you can remove the tire from your car, then you are just seconds away from checking your brakes yourself through a visual inspection. Learn to inspect your own brakes yourself (you might even be able to inspect your brakes without removing the wheel, if you have the right type of aluminum wheels with large openings on your car), and you can save future headaches or doubts about the condition of your brakes. As far as finding your local garage mechanic liable, it's pretty hard since he inspected the brakes 6 months before you found the brakes seriously worn. He might have inspected it just as the caliper began to stick, in which 5-6 months is more than enough time to cause the brakes to be in the poor shape they were in when you took it to Firestone. Hope that helps some. Good luck!!
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