ATVs/ All-Terrain Vehicles

Published on: November 28, 2017

Stricter State ATV Laws Can Prevent Child Injuries

ATVs are the most popular off-road vehicles. However, these vehicles are far too heavy and bulky for children to handle. ATV vehicle use is linked to more than 3,000 fatalities in the United States over a span of three decades. More than 50% of these fatalities involved children.

The state of Georgia has some of the highest rates of ATV accidents involving children in the country. Lawmakers must invest time and resources in enacting legislation that sets restrictions on children’s use of all-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles.

Children below the age of 16 should not be allowed to operate ATVs. Unfortunately, far too many parents believe that it is safe to let their children operate such a heavy vehicle not realizing that it poses a tremendous risk of severe injuries in an accident.

Published on: January 13, 2015

Riding an Adult-Sized ATV Can Be Deadly for a Child

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Pediatricians and child safety advocates have long known of the dangers involving children and adult all-terrain vehicles (ATV). However, according to a new study, children who ride adult-sized ATVs may have the highest risk of suffering fatal injuries in an accident.

According to the study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, fatal accidents were most likely to involve children riding adult-sized ATVs, or not wearing a helmet while riding. In 95% of the fatal ATV accidents analyzed in the study, the victims were riding large vehicles at the time. In spite of all the media attention on the dangers of these vehicles, far too many parents allow their children to drive adult-sized ATVs. Your child should not ride in an adult-sized ATV, even as a passenger.

Here’s a fact many parents may not know; in the United States, more children die in ATV accidents than in bicycle accidents. That’s partly because the dangers of riding on such vehicles isn’t fully appreciated by parents.In addition, the great majority of children do not have the kind of physical or cognitive maturity that is needed to operate an adult-sized ATV.

Published on: August 2, 2013

Georgia ATV Accidents and Off Road Vehicle Safety Concerns

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There have been a number of ATV-related accidents reported in Georgia over the past few weeks, and unfortunately that number is expected to increase as the weather remains nice into the fall months.

In one accident, a man suffered injuries when the ATV he was riding with his wife tipped over.The husband was trapped underneath the ATV, and suffered serious injuries.In another more recent incident, a man was killed in an ATV accident when his machine collided with another vehicle.

Both of these accidents involve adult users of ATVs, but most injuries involving ATV accidents every year involve teenagers and children.This is in spite of the fact that ATV use by children is not encouraged.In fact, it is highly recommended that children below the age of 16 not be allowed to ride ATVs at all.

Published on: February 1, 2012

Georgia Appeals Court Overturns Yamaha Rhino Injury Verdict

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Georgia Court Of Appeals has reversed a jury verdict in favor of a Yamaha Rhino rider, who suffered a serious personal injury during an off-road vehicle accident.The victim, a gravedigger from Georgia had been riding his Yamaha Rhino off-highway vehicle when the vehicle flipped over.He suffered serious leg injuries.

A court had ordered Yamaha to pay damages of $317,000.However, the Georgia Court of Appeals has now reversed the verdict.According to the appeals court’s decision, unlike a car accident, the victim had assumed the risk of injuries when he purchased the off-road vehicle in 2006.With this and to the dismay of many personal injury lawyers, Yamaha’s unblemished Rhino injury lawsuit record continues.The company has continually won lawsuits arising out injuries and fatalities resulting from accidents involving its off-road vehicle.However, the company has also entered into undisclosed settlements with several injured people, so the unblemished track record isn’t that clean.Those settlements are confidential, however.

The Yamaha Rhino was introduced in 2003, and quickly became popular among a growing generation of off-road vehicle fans.These off-road vehicles are different from all-terrain vehicles, in that they do include some additional safety features like safety belts.However, consumer safety groups soon found that the Yamaha Rhino was linked to a number of accidents ending in injuries.Some of the injuries that have resulted from these off-road vehicle accidents have been severe.Yamaha Rhino riders, who were caught or trapped when the off-road vehicle flipped over, have suffered from severe crushing injuries, and arm and leg injuries.There have also been amputations and severe limbs.The Rhino weighs about 1,100 pounds, and any accident that results in the vehicle flipping over and landing on a person, can cause serious injuries.

Published on: July 12, 2010

ATV Dealers Selling Adult-Sized ATVs to Children

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

ATV manufacturers make much of the fact that their vehicles are not “recommended” for children below the age of 16. They recommend that children only drive smaller-sized ATVs. They might want to send a memo to some of their dealers, however. An investigation by CBS Early Show found that many dealers see no harm in pushing sales of ATVs, even when they know that the vehicle will be operated by a child below the age of 16.

The CBS investigation found that five out of every ten dealers were willing to sell ATVs to undercover investigators posing as consumers, even when they were made aware that these all-terrain vehicles would be operated by a below-16 year old. In fact, one dealer in the exposé actually persuaded the “parents” to buy a large-sized ATV for their child, because he would be bored of a small-sized ATV within a week.

To Atlanta accident lawyers, these findings are very disturbing for two reasons –

Published on: June 6, 2010

Yamaha Rhino Gets Product Liability Verdict for Plaintiff

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Georgia jury this week awarded a couple, damages of $317,000 in the first product liability lawsuit related to injuries from Yamaha Rhino All-Terrain Vehicles.

Roger McTaggart was injured in 2007 when his ATV flipped over, trapping his leg. He suffered crushing injuries in the accident. McTaggart filed a lawsuit against Yamaha, alleging defects in the Rhino ATV. According to his attorneys, the accident occurred on a flat piece of land on which it should have been safe to ride an ATV. McTaggart claimed in his lawsuit, that the Yamaha Rhino should’ve come with doors that would have contained the rider’s legs, thereby preventing crushing injuries in case of a rollover..

Not surprisingly, Yamaha insisted that the injuries were caused not because of any inherent stability defect in the Rhino, but simply because the driver operated the vehicle in a reckless manner. It’s highly likely that Yamaha will pursue this line of defense in most of the Rhino product liability lawsuits that are pending against it. Yamaha plans to appeal the verdict.

Published on: July 17, 2009

Three Girls Injured in Douglas County ATV Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Three teenage girls were injured on Wednesday in an ATV accident in Douglas County.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the three were riding an ATV on the street, and seem to have lost control of the four-wheeler when trying to turn a curve. All three were ejected from the ATV, and suffered injuries that did not appear to life threatening. The girls were not wearing helmets. The Georgia State Patrol says that the girls may be charged because they were not allowed to ride an ATV on the road. Besides, they were not wearing helmets, and they were not licensed.

Fortunately, the injuries were not too serious, but this was an accident that could have easily resulted in serious injuries. In Georgia and across the country, thousands of injuries every year are traced to ATV accidents. Many of these accidents can be traced to design defects in the ATV. The Yamaha Rhino, for instance, has been linked to thousands of injuries across the country, because of its narrower body, and high center of gravity that places motorists at an increased risk of a rollover. Riders are likely to be thrown off the ATV, and trapped underneath, leaving them with crushing injuries.