By Myron Levin on November 17, 2011
Yamaha Motors once again stands undefeated in court battles over injuries and deaths in crashes of its Rhino off-road vehicles. In a unanimous ruling, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a May, 2010 jury verdict favoring a rider who suffered a serious leg injury when his Rhino rolled over on top of him. Prior to…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles, Product Hazards and Recalls |
on November 16, 2011
Young riders long have made up a big share of the people killed in all-terrain vehicle crashes. As FairWarning reported in March, 2010, children under 16 accounted for more than 2,500 of the 10,000-plus fatalities recorded in ATV accidents since federal authorities started keeping track in the 1980s. But the reason why so many kids…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles |
By Myron Levin on April 5, 2011
Yamaha Motors won a key round in defense of its Rhino off-road vehicles Monday, when a state court jury in a closely watched case in Orange County, Calif., absolved the company of responsibility for a serious injury in a rollover crash. In a 9-to-3 decision, the jury rejected the claims of Daniel Swainston, 59, of Bakersfield,…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles |
By Myron Levin on October 27, 2010
Yamaha Motor Co. has won another round in its battle to stave off lawsuits involving rollover crashes of its Rhino off-road vehicles. A 12-member jury in Montgomery County, Ala., unanimously cleared Yamaha of responsibility for injuries sustained by Jacklyn McMahon when her Rhino rolled over in July, 2007. McMahon, then 47, suffered two broken arms and a serious foot injury when the 1,100-pound vehicle landed on…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Myron Levin on October 19, 2010
Alarmed by dozens of reports of deadly rollovers of Yamaha Rhino off-road vehicles, the Consumer Product Safety Commission took action early last year. The agency pressured Yamaha to announce a “free repair program” — a recall by another name — to make fixes aimed at improving the vehicles’ stability. The move by the agency, after…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Jill Replogle on October 19, 2010
Think that a four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle provides more protection in a nasty spill than a two-wheel dirt bike? Think again. New research by a Johns Hopkins University team found that victims of ATV crashes were 50 percent more likely to die of their injuries than people in off-road motorcycle crashes. The researchers also found that…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles |
By Jill Replogle on October 14, 2010
Children increasingly are being hospitalized with injuries — often traumatic brain injuries — from all-terrain vehicle accidents, a new study shows. A Johns Hopkins University research team found that 4,039 children up to age 17 were admitted at hospitals for ATV-related injuries in 2006. That was 2½ times higher than the total of 1,618 in…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles |
By Myron Levin on September 17, 2010
The Yamaha Rhino made its mark in the world of off-roading, in more ways than one. Popular with riders but a magnet for lawsuits, it is now the focus of an immense legal battle. FairWarning Reports.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Off-Road Vehicles |
By Joanna Lin on May 28, 2010
Memorial Day weekend is among the deadliest times for all-terrain vehicle riders, with 27 fatalities recorded over the holiday last year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns. ATV-related deaths from March to April spike an average of 30 percent for children younger than 16 and 88 percent for adults, according to the CPSC. From 2003…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles |
By Matthew Richmond on April 8, 2010
Makers of all-terrain vehicles promised to monitor dealers to prevent the sale of powerful adult model ATVs to kids under 16. But an undercover investigation by the Government Accounting Office suggests self-policing isn’t working. In a report Thursday on safety issues with ATVs, the GAO said investigators visited 10 dealerships in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, posing as buyers…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Off-Road Vehicles |
