Yamaha’s Rhino, an all terrain vehicle (ATV), has been a source of controversy since it was created five years ago. According to industry experts, the Rhino’s design is defective, it has caused far too many injuries and is simply too dangerous.

Was the Rhino rushed to market?

That’s what many experts claim, including Cole Portis, an Alabama attorney whose firm represents those who have been injured by the Yamaha Rhino. In a recent interview, Portis explained what happened:

The Yamaha Rhino was created in September of 2003. It reminds me a lot of what Ford did when they were creating the Bronco II. General Motors had developed the Trailblazer and all of a sudden Ford sees this Trailblazer coming on the market and so they rush the Bronco II to market without doing any proper design studies.

In the same way, Kawasaki had a vehicle called the Mule on the market and Yamaha realized that it needed to quickly put a competing vehicle in the market place. So Yamaha rushed onto the market with the Rhino. Basically, Yamaha already had an ATV on the market called the Grizzly. So, they used the Grizzly engine and chassis and just added two seats that were side-by-side on the Rhino. It also added the ability to haul up to about 400 pounds on the back of the Rhino.

Defective design

The Rhino was meant to be used in rugged terrain, but it was also marketed for use around a ranch or on flatland, according to Portis, who says that there are basically two defects with it:

The first defect is that it is prone to rollover because the wheel-base is very narrow and the vehicle is also very high. Therefore, because of the high center of gravity at low speeds, less than 10 miles per hour, the vehicle is prone to rollover.

The second defect is that it doesn’t have any type of barrier to prevent someone’s arms, legs, ankles or feet from being crushed after it tips or rolls over. In other words, there aren’t any doors on either side of the vehicle to keep the body parts of the occupant in the vehicle. Additionally, there are no handles that can be grabbed by the occupants while it is being operated.

Naturally, people put their legs out to prevent them from being thrown from the Rhino or gravity requires the occupants’ legs and arms to go outside the vehicle. When it ultimately tips over, the vehicle itself rolls on the top of these extremities and causes severe injuries.

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.