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ARTICLE ID 30371
- PRODUCTS LIABILITY - ALLEGEDLY DEFECTIVE ________ HONDA ATV 200X ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE - ROLL-OVER PROPENSITY - PLAINTIFF INJURED WHEN STICK FROM BRUSH LINING THE TRAIL PIERCES HIS EYE AND PENETRATES HIS BRAIN.
U.S. District Court
This action arose out of a single vehicle accident involving the
19-year-old male plaintiff who was operating his ________ Honda ATV
200X all-terrain vehicle on an off-road trail when the vehicle
rolled over onto its side. The plaintiff was injured when a stick
from an adjacent brush pierced his eye socket and penetrated the
back of his skull. The plaintiff lost his eye and suffers from
permanent brain damage as a result of the injury. The case was
trifurcated with the issue of whether the accident occurred on
the ATV tried first.
The subject accident allegedly occurred on December 20, ________,
while the plaintiff was riding the ATV 200X on a trail located in
the woods of Naugatuck, Ct. The plaintiff contended that
as he attempted to complete a counterclockwise U-turn, the ATV
unexpectedly rolled onto its side. The plaintiff additionally
alleged that he was thrown into some brush which was lining the
side of the trail whereupon a stick pierced his eye socket,
penetrating his brain. The plaintiff alleged that following the
accident, he either walked or rode the ATV vehicle back to his
fiances house where he then collapsed.
The plaintiff alleged that the ATV was defectively designed p 7 3
because the center of gravity was too high and because it lacked
a differential axle, subjecting the vehicle to a high rollover
propensity. The plaintiff additionally claimed that the warnings
provided with the vehicle were inadequate.
The defendant disputed the plaintiffs version of the accident,
maintaining that the plaintiff was not injured as a result of an
ATV roll-over. The defendant pointed to evidence indicating that
the wood removed from the plaintiffs brain was tested and
determined to be from a manufacturing dowel, coated with
polyurethane and a variety of wood that grows only in the orient.
The defendant offered additional evidence that the plaintiff had
told medical care providers that he was stabbed during an
altercation. The defendant further argued that the plaintiff
could not possibly have traveled a one-half mile distance from
the alleged accident scene to his fiancees house with the injury
he suffered and the defendant presented expert testimony to
support this position.
On the issue of damages, the plaintiff was prepared to present
evidence that several years after the accident, the plaintiff
underwent surgery to remove the remnants of the stick from his
brain. The plaintiff has suffered the loss of his left eye and
has residual neurologic deficits, including difficulty speaking,
cognitive deficits and paraparesis.
Following the first phase of the trial, the jury determined that
the plaintiffs injury had not occurred due to an ATV rollover. A
verdict for the defendant was entered accordingly.
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