› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
Earlier this month we reported the story of Wyatt Spencer, a 13-year-old New York boy who was killed when the Yamaha Rhino 450 he was driving rolled over on top of him. Now the boy’s parents, Jim and Bonnie Spencer, are meeting with attorneys to explore the possibility of pursuing a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Yamaha Rhino safety upgrades urged by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission back in March weren’t enough to save the life of 13-year-old James Wyatt Spencer of Knox, N.Y., who died last week when the 450 he was driving rolled over.
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.
A class action claim has been filed against Yamaha Motor Co. following the death of a 13-year-old Canadian boy who lost his life when the Rhino he was driving rolled over and crushed him. The class action claim has been issued with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for all Canadians who sustained personal injuries or loss of life while riding in a Rhino ATV.
A West Virginia couple has filed a lawsuit in their state court against the Yamaha dealership who sold them a Rhino 450 in May of 2007. According to the complaint, the couple bought a Rhino model not equipped with passenger doors and handholds. Just a few weeks later, in August, Yamaha Motor Co. offered to install aftermarket doors and handholds on any unequipped Rhinos free of charge in what was effectively the first Yamaha Rhino safety “recall.” When the couple contacted their dealer in September to have the upgrades installed, the dealer told them that an appointment wasn’t possible.
Yamaha Motor Co. is being sued in Canada over the death of a 13-year-old boy who lost his life when the Rhino he was driving rolled over. Wyatt Bauer, a resident of Rimbey, Alberta, was on vaction with his family in 2007 when the accident occurred. Like many other Rhino victims before him, Bauer was crushed under the weight of the vehicle. His family is seeking $316 million in damages ($400 million CA). The lawsuit can proceed to trial once it has been certified by a judge as a class action.
This week the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an official recall of Yamaha Rhino ATVs. What took them so long!!?? Reports of serious injury and death linked to this vehicle have been reported since 2003, leaving many to wonder if this action is an example of “too little, too late.”
All Yamaha Rhino 450 and 660 model vehicles were recalled for repairs designed to prevent accidents that resulted in 46 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The reported deaths occurred between the fall of 2003, when the vehicles were first distributed, through this year.
“I am downstairs sitting in my recliner watching TV. The recliner is in our little living room right at the base of the stairs. Sometimes I can see J.T. just out of the corner of my eye coming down. I hear the squeak of the third stair and see a flash of blonde shaggy hair. I find myself washed in a sense of relief until I turn to welcome him and find he wasn’t there and the sharp pain of disappointment stabs me back into reality. Do you ever do that?”
