Yamaha Rhino Wrongful Death Suit Filed by Parents of Two Young Girls
The families of two 11-year-old Mississippi girls have filed a lawsuit over alleged design defects with the Yamaha Rhino, claiming that the side-by-side vehicle is inherently unstable and caused an ATV rollover accident that claimed the lives of both girls. The Yamaha Rhino wrongful death suit joins hundreds of other similar claims alleging severe and sometimes fatal injuries were caused when the ATV tipped over, often at slow speeds on relatively flat surfaces.
The parents of Emily Ann Bates and Lauren Elizabeth Dilworth filed the complaint last Wednesday in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the location of the home offices of Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp. of America. The wrongful death lawsuit says the two girls died on October 18, 2008 in DeSoto County, Mississippi when their Rhino flipped over while being operated at low speed.
According to the complaint, the 1,000 pound vehicle rolled over onto the two six graders, killing Dilworth instantly and pinning Bates, causing severe trauma to her head. Bates was rushed to Baptist-DeSoto Hospital in Southaven, where she was pronounced dead.
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Learn MoreThe lawsuit is the most recent of several hundred Yamaha Rhino lawsuits that have been filed throughout the United States. The lawsuits all have similar allegations that the design problems with the Yamaha Rhino make the vehicle prone to rollover, sometimes at speeds as slow as 13 miles per hour on flat pavement.
All federal Yamaha Rhino cases have been centralized for pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, before Judge Jennifer B. Coffman in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The first Yamaha Rhino trials in the MDL, which are known as “bellwether” cases because they are used to gauge how jurors will respond to evidence that will be presented throughout the litigation, are scheduled to begin in October 2010.
The latest lawsuit says that the Yamaha Rhino was defectively designed, leading to an unstable vehicle in which some of the safety measures, such as the roll cage, are more likely to cause severe injury than prevent it. The lawsuit alleges that there have been at least 59 Yamaha Rhino deaths.
Yamaha officials point out that the vehicles’ safety recommendations call for drivers to be at least 16-years-old and licensed. They also recommend wearing a helmet and seat belt.
Last August, a Texas state court jury found that Yamaha was not liable for the wrongful death of a 13 year-old boy in a Yamaha Rhino accident suit filed by his parents. In that case, the jury decision was based on the individual circumstances of that accident, including the fact that the teenage boy was driving a Rhino that had been modified and his father testified that he was not wearing a helmet when the vehicle flipped and crushed him.
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4 Comments
NickJune 2, 2010 at 2:47 am
I agree... unstable piece of crap. I'm 30 and was driving on level dirt at low speed. I turned with the trail, the Rhino tipped and cut off my left hand. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased. I am writing this message from my hospital bed of my 7th surgery. A simple window net, like the Honda Big Red, would have prevented most, if not all, of these injuries. Simple concept... contain[Show More]I agree... unstable piece of crap. I'm 30 and was driving on level dirt at low speed. I turned with the trail, the Rhino tipped and cut off my left hand. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased. I am writing this message from my hospital bed of my 7th surgery. A simple window net, like the Honda Big Red, would have prevented most, if not all, of these injuries. Simple concept... contain the driver in an off road vehicle.
David J.May 18, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Ok enough on people 16 and younger.I am 48 and my friend who was driving is 45 years old.(old enough for you?).We were riding on completly flat ground.The place we were riding was a drag sprip being built,when he made a left hand turn,when all the sudden the piece of crap rolled and crushed both my legs.Being on a dirt track and going no more than 10-12 mph you would think this would have never ha[Show More]Ok enough on people 16 and younger.I am 48 and my friend who was driving is 45 years old.(old enough for you?).We were riding on completly flat ground.The place we were riding was a drag sprip being built,when he made a left hand turn,when all the sudden the piece of crap rolled and crushed both my legs.Being on a dirt track and going no more than 10-12 mph you would think this would have never happened but it did !! As i said,piece of crap!!
kevinMay 13, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Just like it says above in the other comment. Rhinos are for drivers 16 years and older. It also states wear a helmet and seat belts. All these lawsuits are just people who were negligent in the way they operated the vehicle. Any type of vehicle has the potential to roll over or flip but you dont see lawsuits on them. Quit being money hungry and stand up parents and take responsibility for what yo[Show More]Just like it says above in the other comment. Rhinos are for drivers 16 years and older. It also states wear a helmet and seat belts. All these lawsuits are just people who were negligent in the way they operated the vehicle. Any type of vehicle has the potential to roll over or flip but you dont see lawsuits on them. Quit being money hungry and stand up parents and take responsibility for what you allow your children to do. Dont blame Yamaha for your stupidity.
HarryApril 22, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Parents are responsible not Yamaha. 11 year olds should not be driving a machine made for people over 16. Let alone on paved roads without helmets or seltbelts (which you failed to mention in your above article)