Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog

ATV's including the Yamaha Rhino have been alleged to have killed more than five hundred people in 2006. Twenty percent of the people that perished in these unfortunate accidents were children. Amid the ATV deaths, 146,600 people visited hospital emergency rooms due to injuries from the well-known Yamaha Rhino ATV within the same year. The information of the alleged incidents was found from information gathered surrounding ATV crashes. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) gathered the information regarding the crashes of the alleged defective ATV’s.

Accidents involving rollovers with ATV’s are common with vehicles of this type. Many people use the vehicles to ride off the road in a more naturalistic setting. ATV’s can reach speeds of up to fifty-give miles per hour and some way as much as a quarter ton. Three-quarters of ATV accidents wind up yielding trauma or injuries to the head and spinal chord of its victims. Many people that sustain such injuries sustain life threatening and or lifelong impairments. Paralysis is a common side effect of spinal chord injuries in these types of accidents.

The Yamaha Rhino ATV is alleged to be one of the most hazardous vehicles of its type on the market at the present time. People that view the Yamaha Rhino in a negative light allege that the vehicle has narrow tires and is extremely top heavy making it quite hazardous to drive. These type of defects make it probable that the Yamaha Rhino will tip over while making turns even at lower speeds and while on even ground. Also, the legs of passengers are exposed in a manner that leaves them completely unprotected if a rollover occurs. People involved in rollover incidents on Yamaha Rhinos have allegedly sustained leg, ankle, and feet injuries. Generally, the bones are either completely broken or pulverized in the alleged crashes. Some people come away completely disabled or have had to have arms of legs amputated as a direct result. Usually if children are involved in a rollover crash involving the Yamaha Rhino, it is alleged that it is fatal more times than not.

The year 2007 brought about the implementation of offering modifications to safeguard the Yamaha Rhinos by its parent company. It remains to be seen whether the implementation of doors and more handholds will make the vehicles any safer. The company has allegedly failed to recall or give refunds to the owners of Yamaha Rhinos.

Pennsylvania has allegedly had the largest amount of ATV deaths in the nation since 1982. This information is part of the CPSC’s report. The states next in line with large amounts of ATV deaths are: California, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas. All states across America can lay claim to at least on death with ATV’s at fault. The CPSC has estimated that in 2005 there were 666 deaths due to ATV’s and they believe it is possible that number could be as high as 870 this year. Consumer advocates are working hard to implement policies that would safeguard children by prohibiting the sale of ATV’s for the use of children.

The Lowe Law Firm is familiar with ATV and in particular the Yamaha Rhino and handling product liability lawsuits against the companies that make them. If you need an experienced lawyer to handle your case anywhere in the United States, please call Jeffrey Lowe, 877-678-3400.

By Delsia Hartford and Jeffrey Lowe

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The Yamaha Rhino is a prime example of the need for more regulation and safety measures when it comes to ATVs. Lives could have been saved if more controls were in place, particularly with the design of the Rhino. Complaints are pouring in, alleging that even at low speed and during turns on flat surfaces, rollovers occur due to a defect in the design—a high center of gravity makes the vehicle top-heavy.

In November, 2006 a 10-year-old girl was killed when a Yamaha Rhino tipped over on top of her. Police said three children were on the Rhino when it overturned as the driver, the girl’s 12-year-old cousin, tried to make a left turn while going down a hill. He tried to lift the vehicle off the girl, but it was too heavy.

Another near-tragic accident happened in Chino Hills, CA., involving four youths. Without permission from a parent, they took a spin in a Rhino and the vehicle swerved before one juvenile in the back seat jumped off. The driver then overcompensated, and the ATV pitched back the other way before it rolled over. Three of the youths were seriously injured.
And in Edmonton, Alberta, a 13-year-old boy, Wyatt Lyal Bauer, was killed while driving a Rhino, prompting a spinal cord surgeon to ask for a ban on people under the age of 16 driving ATVs and for the licensing of all ATV drivers. He had previously operated on a number of people whose backs were broken in ATV accidents. "We've seen a huge increase in the amount of ATV-related trauma -- not just deaths, but people getting buggered up,” said Dr. Lavoie of University Hospital.

Apparently Wyatt went around a corner on a hill, lost control of the Rhino and it rolled over on top of him. Friends found him about 20 to 30 minutes later; they lifted off the vehicle and tried to revive him. A helicopter airlifted him from the scene to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Dr. Lavoie wasn't surprised to hear of Wyatt’s death because he knows first-hand the dangers of mixing ATVs and kids. His own two teen aged boys were involved in two separate ATV rollovers. Neither boy was badly hurt, but afterwards they didn't want anything to do with driving an ATV again.

"We've had our scares with it," Lavoie says. "My kids don't want to ride that freakin' thing now. They're not interested."

ATVs are now so large and powerful that it would take a big, strong child to handle a machine such as a 450- or 660-cc Yamaha Rhino. "When it gets over-balanced, unless you're a big strong guy, you can't pull that thing back up," Lavoie says.

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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that consumers cannot sue the makers of federally approved medical devices for design defects in state court.

The decision was a blow to the family of Charles Riegel. While undergoing a medical procedure to unclog an artery, a catheter burst and seriously injured Riegel. He died in 2004.

Riegel’s family sued the catheter’s manufacturer, Medtronic, Inc. The family alleged the catheter was defectively designed and had an inadequate warning label. Medtronic argued that because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the catheter before it was introduced to the market, federal law preempted state court lawsuits.

In Riegel v. Medtronic, an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court agreed. In an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court concluded that state lawsuits that could impose requirements that differed from federal regulations were prohibited.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. She argued that when enacting federal laws governing medical devices, Congress never intended “a radical curtailment of state common-law lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries caused by defectively designed or labeled medical devices.”

Big business is applauding this ruling. According to the Associated Press, the health care technology industry is a $75 billion-a-year giant. This decision will further insulate big business from liability for their negligence. But for consumers – and for families like the Riegels – this ruling effectively prevents them from using one of the few tools left following an injury caused by a carelessly designed product.

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The Yamaha Rhino is the subject of many lawsuits and claims because it is poorly designed. One has to wonder how a vehicle—any vehicle—would be approved for sale without doors, and other alleged design flaws such as being top-heavy and having tires that are too narrow. Regardless, that seems to be the case with the Yamaha Rhino ATV, a recreational vehicle that is racking up injuries and even death.

And based on performance, it might even be mis-branded. ATV stands for All-Terrain-Vehicle. However, looking at the unit’s troubled history, it appears that the ATV fails to live up to its name.

Introduced to the market in 2003, the Yamaha Rhino ATV appeared to be doomed from the start. Critics of the unit claim that it is top-heavy with narrow tires, which makes the ATV prone for rollovers.

And when that happens, there is little in the original design to keep limbs safely contained within the unit, as there are no doors. If seat belts are not used, there is a far greater chance that the occupant will be ejected fully, or partially from the unit—deepening the injuries, or even causing them to be fatal.

There are many heartbreaking stories connected to the Yamaha Rhino ATV, and given that so many ATV riders are children—well, you can guess what is coming next.

Thanksgiving was anything by thankful for the Vargas family in California, after 12-year-old Ashlyn Vargas was killed after her Yamaha Rhino ATV flipped on a turn. Ashlyn, who believed in seat belts but had forgotten to buckle up, was thrown from the ATV. However, critics say that the unit would not have tipped over in the first place had it not proven top-heavy, or designed with a narrow frame that served to exacerbate the problem.

Another tragedy happened in June of last year, when a nine-year-old boy from East Texas died after being thrown from a slow-moving Yamaha Rhino ATV. J.T. Crow, who was a passenger in a Rhino ATV driven by his 12-year-old sister, died from severe trauma to the head after the Rhino ATV rolled on top of him. The child’s mother said that the ATV was traveling at a slow rate of speed just a short distance from the house when the accident happened.

The Crow family is filing a wrongful death suit against the manufacturer, over the loss of their son.

Even though nether child was wearing a helmet in the foregoing case, others wearing full helmets and properly strapped in have suffered neck injuries, and have had limbs crushed and in some cases amputated after the lack of doors and window mesh failed to contain limbs and heads when the rollover-prone ATVs, as they have been described, fail to stay upright.

In September of 2006, the manufacturer is reported to have sent a letter to all Yamaha Rhino ATV owners warning that the vehicle was prone to tip when negotiating sharp turns. While many Yamaha Rhino ATV owners might fail to concur with this observation in view of experiences where the vehicle has been prone to tip even on flat surfaces as low speeds, Yamaha is reported to have made the case for seat belt and helmet use, and to keep limbs inside the vehicle at all times as, it is assumed, compensation for the lack of doors.

However, the physics and dynamics of a sharp change in trajectory, which given a rollover can happen in the blink of an eye, can have a dramatic affect on limbs and the neck, which can be jerked in various directions without the capacity for the driver to know what is happening.

Finally, in 2007 the manufacturer offered to retrofit all new and used Rhino ATVs with doors and additional hand holds. However, those modifications do not address the alleged design flaw, which sees the unit top-heavy and tip-prone.

Many critics are openly calling for a formal recall, and wonder aloud why it hasn’t happened. So far the manufacturer, according to best information, has yet to extend a recall, or extend an invitation for a refund.

In the meantime, spring will soon be here. Once the remnants of winter clears away in the snow States, often the first priority is to get outside and get into the ATV.

We can only hope that there will be no further injuries or deaths, before definitive action is taken.

Written by Gordon Gibb with contributions by Jeffrey Lowe of the Lowe Law Firm

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Yamaha Rhino's are the subjects of lawsuits and claims throughout the country because of their propensity to roll over due to their narrow wheel base and high center of gravity. The problem is made much more serious because Rhino's which are all terrain vehicles made by Yamaha Corporation lack doors so when they rollover and the driver or passenger's arms or legs get outside the Rhino, severe injuries and amputations are the result.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the aftermath of a Yamaha Rhino rollover speaks volumes, given the number of people who have been killed or injured while riding in the ATV—many of them children.

A photograph of Ashlyn Vargas, a bright and effervescent 12-year-old who was killed when her Yamaha Rhino ATV flipped on top of her and crushed the teen. It was the day after Thanksgiving.

Then there is Matt, a young man who appears healthy and intact in every respect until he pops of his prosthetic leg, displaying the stump where is right knee should have been. He lost his lower right leg after the Yamaha Rhino ATV he was in, rolled.

Introduced in 2003, the Yamaha Rhino ATV proved immensely popular: imagine an ATV with seating for two, seat belts, a roll cage and protection from the sun. A suggestion for hours of fun.

But here’s what it didn’t have: Doors. A low center of gravity. A wide frame, and wide tires for stability. Suddenly the Rhino was earning a less-then stellar reputation amongst enthusiasts. One blogger posted this comment in September of 2006:

“They look pretty fun and bonus, two seats. A seat for the daughter and seat belts.
The only bad thing about them is safety. If you flip/roll one of them, say goodbye to one or both of your legs. They should put small doors on the sides to keep your legs on the inside in case of a rollover. Other than that…”

There you go. Back to Matt, who looks none too happy displaying his stump in the on-line photo.

Dwight could not be happy, either. While you can’t see his face in the photo, one look at his mangled left leg tells you that he suffered a great deal after only a few hours in his brand-new 2004 Yamaha Rhino side-by-side ATV. It appears as if the lower half of his left leg, at mid-shin, was shorn off but surgically re-attached. Dwight is said to have endured a lengthy hospital stay.

With room for two, and a shallow box in back, the Rhino ATV was marketed as part utility vehicle, part recreational vehicle. It looks rugged, with knobby tires and green in color, like a small Jeep. The term ‘4 x 4’ is stenciled on the rear panel, by the taillight.

But there are no doors—nothing to prevent limbs from taking the brunt of a rollover. Even if the operator were wearing a helmet and the supplied seat belt, which is recommended, there is little protection for an arm, or a limb to flail into harm’s way.

After years of accident reports and several deaths, Yamaha finally came to the table in October of 2007 with an offer to retrofit doors and a passenger grab handle to any Yamaha Rhino ATV, regardless of age and condition.

It is also understood that the 2008 models will ship with doors and grab handle factory-installed. However, those improvements do not answer critics who maintain the Rhino carries a center of gravity that is too high for safe off-roading, and a frame that is too narrow only exacerbates that problem.

Narrow, and top-heavy. A recipe for disaster, even on relatively flat surfaces, and at slow speeds.

“The slow speed my daughter was going when this happened—and I saw the tire tracks, it tipped really easily,” Ashlyn Vargas’ grieving father Primo, told KSBY 6 Action News.

Lawsuits filed against the manufacturer concerning the Yamaha Rhino ATV allege the unit is dangerously unstable.

Primo Vargas, featured in a media report, gets the last word:

“Don’t make the mistake I did. Find out what’s going on before you put your kid in any kind of vehicle like this. You could cost them their life and I wouldn’t wish this pain on anybody.”

This story was written in part by
By Gordon Gibb along with Jeffrey Lowe of the Lowe Law Firm in St. Louis Missouri

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