The number of rollovers experienced by drivers of Yamaha’s Rhino, an all terrain vehicle (ATV), is startling according to industry experts. What’s more startling is that Yamaha started receiving complaints about rollovers soon after the vehicle came onto the market in 2003 – but didn’t adequately address those complaints.

Traumatic injuries continue

Cole Portis, an Alabama attorney whose firm represents those who have been injured by the Yamaha Rhino, says that Yamaha hasn’t done enough to address the Rhino’s defective design and that people will continue to suffer traumatic injuries until more is done. In a recent interview, Portis told us:

The number of rollovers of this particular vehicle, during this short period of timeframe, is startling. Almost immediately after the Rhino was released, Yamaha received numerous complaints. Yamaha started having these problems over and over again and the injuries just continued to mount. They will continue to mount until these older Rhinos are off of the market and the newer ones, with the doors and the handles, are all that’s remaining on the market. Even then, people will continue to suffer traumatic injuries until the total design of the Rhino is addressed.

I do hope that Yamaha will address the high center of gravity, but Yamaha appears to be unwilling to change the Rhino design. I would say I don’t know why, but I do know. It’s just the cost factor involved in changing the chassis. The chassis is that of an ATV and when you add more people to the vehicle, with added height and weight, you’ll see more problems.

Yamaha blames consumers

Yamaha has put some of the blame for rollovers and subsequent injuries on its customers saying that they were driving too fast. Portis told us that this is typical. He said, “On most occasions it is done to divert the focus from its own wrongful conduct. The fallacy of Yamaha’s argument, of course, is that it knows that the Rhino is defective. After all, Yamaha offered doors and handholds in response to the number of injury complaints that it received.”

Never assume you don’t have a case

Rhino owners should never assume that they don’t have a case against Yamaha – even if they believe they may have been going to fast, according to Portis. When asked why, he told us, “Because their idea of going fast, my idea of going fast and your idea of going fast are probably all very different. So, you need to look at the facts of each case individually. Potential clients shouldn’t assume. Instead, a client should allow a competent attorney to examine his or her case.”

What to do if you’ve been injured

Portis says that the most important thing an injured consumer can do to preserve their case is to secure the vehicle, because without the vehicle, an attorney will encounter great difficulty in proving a case. If you’ve been injured due to the Yamaha Rhino, contact an attorney whose practice focuses in this area of the law. Consultations with a qualified attorney are strictly confidential, free and without obligation. To contact an attorney about your situation, please click here. We may be able to help.