An attorney for the plaintiffs told the jury that the company chose to put profits over people when it made the Rhino, a vehicle he described as a cross between a golf cart and an all-terrain vehicle.

“Yamaha knew for years it was a defective design and would roll over and kill people,” he told the courtroom. He also described the design flaws that many critics say make the vehicles unstable, namely their narrow track width, disproportionate height, and lack of a rear differential.

“It’s too small and too narrow and goes too fast to be safe,” he said.

Yamaha’s lawyers vigorously defended the Rhino, saying that they are safe when handled properly.

“Accidents and injuries occur because of the operator’s unsafe conduct,” one of Yamaha’s attorneys said in a sweeping statement that contradicted a body of evidence that shows Rhinos can easily roll over even when driven at low speeds and on flat terrain.

The Rhino’s propensity to roll over first came to light in July of 2002, when the vehicle was in its prototype stage and being test driven by Yamaha executives. That was when a Yamaha vice president injured his foot when the Rhino he was driving with a colleague rolled over. Company minutes obtained by CBS News showed that Keisuke “Casey” Yoshida, the President of Yamaha’s U.S. operations, requested an “update on instability of vehicle for future liability cases.”

Earlier this month, the Consumer Products Safety Commission issued a special advisory urging the owners of Rhinos and other all-terrain vehicles to exercise extreme caution while driving them this summer.

In March, the CPSC said it was investigating about 50 incidents involving the Yamaha Rhino, including 46 driver and passenger deaths. The announcement was made at the same time the agency issued a recall notice of all Yamaha models.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Jurors in first Rhino rollover case hear accusations against Yamaha

Forest “Eddie” Ray was killed on September 13, 2007 while operating a Yamaha Rhino near his home in Orange County, Texas, about 50 miles southeast of Houston. School was closed for the day as Hurricane Humberto approached the area, giving Ray some free time to enjoy the family ATV.

Reports say that Ray tried to maneuver the Rhino from grass onto a paved road when the rollover occurred. Ray sustained a fatal head injury when the vehicle rolled over onto him, crushing his head. His parents allege in the lawsuit that Yamaha made and marketed a product they knew to be defectively designed and prone to roll over. They also accuse Yamaha of skimping on costs by not installing vital safety features.

Earlier this year, Yamaha attorneys argued that the fine print on an agreement signed by the plaintiffs at their Yamaha dealership precluded the plantiffs’ right to take their grievances to trial. Court documents showed that the plaintiffs’ finance agreement from the dealership contained an arbitration clause.

The court denied Yamaha’s motion to force arbitration on June 30. An appeal was rejected on July 16. The trial opened on August 17 in the 163rd Judicial Court in Orange County, Texas before a jury of eight men and five women.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › First Yamaha Rhino lawsuit goes to trial

Wyatt, who was an only child, was eager to take the Rhino out for a spin on the day the local Yamaha dealership delivered the vehicle to the family farm. Wyatt spent the better part of the day on May 28 test driving the brand-new Rhino with a school friend. Then, in the late afternoon, the rollover occurred in a field about 500 yards from Wyatt’s house.

Wyatt suffered severe head trauma in the rollover and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving by ambulance to an ER in Albany. Wyatt’s friend was not injured in the accident.

According to his parents, Wyatt had lots of experience driving ATVs and dirt bikes on the farm. Jim Spencer said the dealer that sold him the Rhino never mentioned the massive recall of all Rhino UTVs issued jointly by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and Yamaha Motor Corporation on March 31, 2009.

“It broke my heart,” Mr. Spencer told Albany, New York’s NEWS10. “If I found out what I found out after, I would have never bought this machine,” he said.

The dealership maintains that Mr. Spencer knew the vehicle had to be retrofitted with safety upgrades and thus the recall was implied.

Investigators and lawyers for both Yamaha and the Spencers met in Knox last week to inspect the vehicle and the scene of the accident.

“I don’t want to see anybody else get killed,” Jim Spencer told NEWS10.

“Whatever other investigation needs to be done in this field, I am all for it.”

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Parents of Rhino rollover victim may sue Yamaha