Over 50 cases against the Yamaha Corporation have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation because the issue in every case is the same – that the Yamaha Rhino was defectively designed and that drivers and passengers were severely injured or died when their vehicle rolled over.

Product liability cases

Most of the product liability cases against Yamaha’s design of its all-terrain vehicle (ATV), or utility terrain vehicle (UTV) as it is also known, allege the same defects – that Yamaha rushed the Rhino to market without doing adequate safety testing, that the Rhino’s wheel base is too narrow and its center of gravity is too high and that it did not contain adequate safety features such as doors to keep drivers and passengers inside the vehicle when it rolls over. And these vehicles have rolled over – far too many times.

Children often victims

Children are often the victims of Rhino rollovers – frequently being pinned beneath the vehicle or thrown out of it due to its lack of safety features. Among the many victims have been children under the age of ten who were in the vehicle with their parents or family members traveling at very low rates of speed. While Yamaha has blamed rollover accidents on drivers acting recklessly, most complaints allege that the vehicle’s defective design makes it prone to rollover at very slow speeds and without taking sharp turns. Approximately 50 of those cases have now been consolidated in multidistrict litigation.

Multidistrict litigation

Multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a legal procedure designed to speed the process of complex cases. For an MDL to be granted in product liability lawsuits, the product and questions of fact must be substantially similar. Unlike a class action lawsuit where the claimants’ issues are litigated as one case and then participants share in whatever compensation is granted, MDL cases look at pre-trial issues as a whole, but then those cases are remanded back to their original courts of jurisdiction for litigation. An experienced attorney will be able to determine whether you might have a case against Yamaha and how the MDL’s findings affect your case.

If you or a loved one has been injured by the Yamaha Rhino, contact an experienced attorney who understands the many legal issues associated with this vehicle. Consultations are free, without obligation and are strictly confidential.