Harsh Northeast Winter - Multiple Rips in Liner

Looking for some advice. I have a 26 foot above ground pool with thick aluminium walls which was installed two years ago. Made it through the first winter ok. As the ice thawed this winter I noticed that the liner has a tear/rip pretty much around the entire base of the pool at the seam. The company that installed it came out and took a sample of the tear and intends to have the manufacturer cover it under warranty. My question is if any experienced pool owners or installers have any addtional advice. Was this the cause of a harsh winter or an incorrect installation. I ask as it appears that the seam where the liner wall meets the liner floor wasn't necessarily at the bottom of the pool and more so up the wall a few inches. Did this cause the tear as there shouldn't have been that much weight on the seam at that point?

Here's a pano of the entire pool. Don't worry about the large section of liner missing on the left hand side, thats where they cut the section out. You can see the tear go almost all the way around the pool. http://postimg.org/image/iplo8vpez/