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› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
Two youngsters in Amador County, California, were injured over the Labor Day weekend when the Rhino in which they were traveling rolled over during a turn, according to the local Ledger Dispatch. Both the driver and passenger were 17 years old. Their names have not been released due to their being minors.
A Texas couple has filed a lawsuit against Yamaha USA, Yamaha Manufacturing, and Yamaha Motor, saying the Rhino ATV is unreasonably dangerous, according to a report in the Southeast Texas Record. Ryan Rogers was injured while riding in a Yamaha Rhino on relatively flat ground when the ATV rolled toward the passenger side, the Record reports.
Yamaha Rhino, a popular all terrain vehicle (ATV) manufactured by Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., is the subject of legal scrutiny after cases of serious injury and death have resulted from rollover accidents involving the vehicle. The Rhino has been in production since 2003.
Attorneys at Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., are currently evaluating claims against Yamaha Motor Corporation on behalf of people who suffered serious injury in a Yamaha Rhino ATV accident, or whose loved ones were injured or killed in these serious crashes.
Pending claims allege that design defects make the Rhino fundamentally unstable. Information on the company’s web site, www.yamaha-motor.com and in the Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual acknowledges that “abrupt maneuvers or aggressive driving have caused rollovers - even on flat, open areas.”
A Yamaha Rhino safety bulletin was issued to Rhino owners in August 2007 advising that vehicles could be returned to Yamaha dealers for installation of new equipment - doors and passenger handholds - at no cost to owners, to improve vehicle safety. Yamaha recommended that Rhino owners have the doors and handholds installed.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., Customer Support Group, followed up with a letter to Rhino Owners in September 2006 urging safe operation, warning of risk of tip over or rollover under “certain conditions” and providing instructions for avoiding / correcting a tip over and safe operator / passenger conduct in the event of a tip over / rollover. Warning labels for attachment on the Rhino passenger enclosure were enclosed with the letter.
According to the Yamaha Motor Corporation web site, the 2007 Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual was updated to include the new doors and handholds, and including a note that these modifications were available at no charge to vehicle owners. Rhino owners were provided a supplemental Guide to Genuine Yamaha Doors/Handholds and Rhino Occupant Protection, as well as a new on-product label promoting awareness of the new products and acknowledging dangers of rollover. Dealers installing doors and passenger handholds were instructed to attach the new on-product label to the vehicle’s dashboard.
Doors and passenger handholds are standard on 2008 models of the Yamaha Rhino, according to Yamaha Motor Corporation’s customer service line. Customer service recommends that anyone purchasing a used Yamaha Rhino (prior to the 2008 model) check to see that the doors and passenger handholds have been installed, and to see a local Yamaha authorized dealer to install these items if this has not been done.
Download a PDF of the updated 2007 Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/Rhino%20Owner%20Info/LIT_11626_20_64.pdf
Download a PDF of the 2007 supplemental Guide to Genuine Yamaha Doors / Handholds and Rhino Occupant Protection
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/Rhino%20Owner%20Info/rhino_guide_supplement.pdf
Download a PDF of the 2007 on-product label for the Yamaha Rhino
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/Rhino%20Owner%20Info/SERIGRAPH_sticker_01.pdf
Oct. 15, 2008, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released the 2007 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries, which compiled ATV-related fatality information available to CPSC staff as of Dec. 31, 2007, and ATV-related injury data for emergency-room-treated injuries occurring through Dec. 31, 2007.
According to the report, by the end of 2007 the CPSC had received reports of 8,995 ATV-related deaths between 1982 and 2007. The CPSC reported 542 ATV-related deaths in 2007. The CPSC report states that data is still being collected for 2005 through 2007, so it expects the numbers of reported deaths for that time period to increase as those numbers become available.
The report also reveals that young people under 16 years of age make up about 28 percent of those killed in ATV-related accidents, and children younger than 12 make up 12 percent of the total.
In 2007, the CPSC estimates 150,900 emergency-room treated injuries related to ATV accidents, up from 146,600 in 2006.
Yamaha Rhino, a popular all terrain vehicle (ATV) manufactured by Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., is the subject of particular legal scrutiny after cases of serious injury and death have resulted from rollover accidents involving the vehicle. The Rhino has been in production since 2003.
Pending claims allege that design defects make the Rhino fundamentally unstable. Information on the company’s web site, www.yamaha-motor.com and in the Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual acknowledges that “abrupt maneuvers or aggressive driving have caused rollovers - even on flat, open areas.”
If you or a loved one has suffered injury as a result of an ATV or Yamaha Rhino ATV accident, or if you have suffered the death of a loved one resulting from a Yamaha Rhino ATV or other ATV rollover or other crash, you may have a claim against the manufacturer of the ATV.
Please contact us today by filling out the brief questionnaire, or by calling our toll free number (1-800-898-2034) for a free, no-cost no-obligation evaluation of your case.
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