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News Tagged ‘lawsuits’
ATV deaths prompt Mississippi to consider better ATV legislation
In December we reported how one Mississippi coroner became an advocate of stricter laws governing the use of all-terrain vehicles in her state after witnessing the injury and death the vehicles can cause. Now, other people in that state are echoing the call for more ATV legislation, including the Sheriff of Warren County, Mississippi and two state lawmakers.
Federal Yamaha Rhino cases set for multidistrict litigation next year
All of the lawsuits involving the Yamaha Rhino that were filed in federal court have been brought together for pretrial litigation under U.S. District Judge Jennifer B. Coffman in the Western District of Kentucky. Judge Coffman will preside over five trials scheduled to open between October 2010 and January 2011.
Texas jury clears Yamaha in Rhino rollover case
The Texas jury that heard the first case against Yamaha and its popular Rhino, an all-terrain vehicle that consumer groups and safety advocates claim is highly unstable and deadly, ruled in the manufacturer’s favor last week. The case was brought to court by the parents of Forrest “Eddie” Ray, a 13-year-old boy who was killed in 2007 when the Rhino he was driving flipped.
First Yamaha Rhino lawsuit goes to trial
A lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Corporation and its subsidiaries, filed by the parents of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a Rhino rollover accident, became the first of some 500 wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits to go to court in North America. Attorneys for Yamaha had tried to force the lawsuit into arbitration, but the Ninth Court of Appeals of Texas rejected its petition.
CBS casts spotlight on Yamaha Rhino flaws, instability
An in-depth report of Yamaha Rhinos published by CBS exposes some surprising and ironic facts surrounding the history of the popular off-road vehicle. According to the report, in July 2002, Yamaha executives gathered in an expanse of rural Kentucky to test drive prototypes for a “new generation” of off-road vehicles. These new vehicles would take off-roading to a new level, replacing the single rider ATVs that riders had to straddle, with side by side seats, a cargo compartment and a frame narrow enough to fit in the back of a standard pickup truck. These New Generation Vehicles, or NGVs as Yamaha execs called them, would later be known as the Yamaha Rhino. The first Rhino rollover injuries would occur during these test drives.
Michigan woman in critical condition after Rhino accident
A 29-year-old Michigan woman is in critical condition after losing control of the Yamaha Rhino she was driving. Authorities in Wright Township, Michigan, said that Melissa VanBeveren’s Rhino rolled down a ravine and struck a large tree. The passenger, 47-year-old Al Dietrich, was able to jump out of the vehicle before it hit the tree and suffered only minor bruises and scrapes.
Texas woman seeks damages for injuries sustained in Rhino rollover
A Texas woman who injured her right leg when the Yamaha Rhino she was a passenger in rolled over is taking the manufacturer to court, claiming that the UTV is “defective and unfit for its intended use.” The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas, accuses Yamaha Motor Corporation, Yamaha Manufacturing, and Yamaha Motor Company of “strict liability, negligence, and breach of implied and express warranties,” according to the Southeast Texas Record.
Rhino rollover kills California man, injures 5 others
The Desert Sun of Palm Springs, California reported the death of a 31-year-old man who was killed when the Yamaha Rhino he was driving rolled over. Juan Carlos Camarillo, a resident of Garden Grove, Calif., was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Five others were also injured, including one who was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition.
Yamaha Australia offers no Rhino safety recall
Australia’s Daily Telegraph reports that Yamaha Australia is not extending the same Rhino UTV “voluntary repair program” to Australians that it did to Americans. On March 31, Yamaha America and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission jointly announced that all Rhino customers should return their vehicles to their dealerships for a series of safety upgrades. Additionally, Yamaha instructed its dealerships to cease selling any new Rhino inventory until those upgrades were made.
