Yamaha Class Action

There is a lot of discussion in the legal community about the inevitable class action suit that Yamaha will face due to the defects in its Rhino UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle). The Rhino was introduced five years ago as a cross between an ATV and a very small pickup. It is designed to carry two passengers side by side and has a utility box on the back that looks like a little pickup bed.

The Rhino has a narrow chassis, a relatively high center of gravity and wheels that are small for an off-road vehicle. As a result, the Rhino has a propensity to tip over or roll over and many of them have done so, resulting in injuries and fatalities for the riders.

The 2008 Rhino has doors on the side and hand-grips on the frame. Prior to the 2008 model, the UTV had neither – riders were protected only by a roll cage. When the Rhino began to roll, passengers’ limbs and torsos were thrown sideways whether the seat-belts were fastened or not.

Yamaha has offered to retrofit all Rhinos with doors and hand-grips, free of charge. The company maintains that the Rhino’s design is sound, however, and that the injuries and deaths are due solely to driver error. Many injury victims feel otherwise and are seeking legal redress. A class action suit against Yamaha is probably inevitable.

One of the indicators that Yamaha may recognize some validity in the claims of design defects is reflected by the warning label now permanently mounted on every Rhino sold. Among other things, it states that “Abrupt maneuvers or aggressive driving have caused rollovers…even in flat, open areas.” Further, the label provides notice that the Rhino driver should “Avoid paved surfaces. Turn gradually and go slowly if you must drive on pavement…”

Yamaha has designed, built and sold a vehicle that by its own admission can’t handle pavement or sharp turns. This is a big jump from the original concept of off-road vehicles, which were designed to go anywhere under any circumstances. The number and type of injuries that occur in Rhino rollovers are mute evidence that this vehicle has no place in an environment with mixed road surfaces, nor should it be driven by anyone other than a cautious and experienced off-road enthusiast who is familiar with the Rhino’s quirks.

Those Rhino riders who have lost arms or legs in an unprotected, rolling vehicle are going to disagree. People who have lost family members to a Rhino rollover on a flat asphalt surface are also going to disagree. Filing of a Yamaha Rhino class action suit is a legal certainty at some point in the near future.

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