PWC Injury Blog

On July 2, 2018, Tessa Fleming of Ridgewood, New York was riding as a passenger on a 2017 Bombardier Sea Doo when she suddenly and unexpectedly slid off the back of the seat. Unfortunately, and through no fault of her own, she sustained massive, debilitating injuries when she landed, with legs abducted, near the personal watercraft’s jet drive propulsion system.

The accident occurred near the Gateway National Recreation Area at the end of the Rockaways in Queens, NY.

Tessa is being represented by Mazzola Law Firm in collaboration with Michael Ronemus of Ronemus & Vilensky, LLP.

On July 1, 2017, 22 year old Gianna S of Sewell, New Jersey was riding as a passenger on a 2016 Yamaha Waverunner in the seat position closest to the rear of the watercraft.  The operator had begun to gradually accelerate the waverunner when Gianna slid off the seat, falling directly behind the waverunner in close proximity to the jet drive propulsion system.  Upon landing in the water, the powerful blast from the jet drive penetrated her lower body orifices, causing mutilating injuries to her vagina, anus, perineum, rectum, colon, and other internal organs.

Gianna S is being represented by the Mazzola Law Firm in collaboration with Ernest Alvino of Hoffman DiMuzio.

On May 29, 2016, while riding as a passenger on a Bombardier Sea Doo, 19 year old Hailey Halbert of Sulphur Springs, Texas fell off the back of the PWC and landed directly in the blast of water from the PWC’s jet thrust propulsion system.

She was immediately life flighted to a nearby hospital where she underwent life saving medical intervention. Halbert, like too many others, sustained injuries that required the surgical implantation of a colostomy bag.

Hailey Halbert is being represented by the Mazzola Law Firm in collaboration with Dana Kirk of the Kirk Law Firm, PLLC.

Those interested in following the Halbert v. BRP matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.

Over the past several months, alarming numbers of women (and/or their parents) have contacted Mazzola Law Firm with increasing frequency, all seeking answers, and all wondering how it is that they ended up in the intensive care unit, fighting for their lives (or the lives of their loved ones). From frantic parents fearing for their child’s life should the infectious disease doctor not be able to stop the spreading infection due to sepsis from a severely damaged colon…to traumatized young women wondering if they will ever be able to bear children…to questions of whether they will ever regain normal bowel functions without the assistance of a colostomy.

The bottom line is, PWC orifice injuries are going to continue to happen until the folks at Yamaha, Kawasaki and Bombardier stop trying to pass the blame onto the victims, and design the defect out of their PWC by placing a raised seat on the back of the PWC that would divert a falling passenger away from the jet blast. It’s a simple fix.

Over the coming months, Mazzola Law Firm will be teaming up with top product liability attorneys across America to see to it that these women receive justice for what they have been through, and that the manufacturers of these personal watercraft, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Bombardier, are held accountable for their actions/inactions.

Additional blog posts over the coming weeks will address each new matter individually.

On August 19, 2015, 12 year old Lexis L. of Little Falls, New York sustained severe perianal lacerations when she fell off the back of personal watercraft and landed in the path of the jet thrust from the PWC’s jet propulsion system. Her father was operating the 1994 Polaris SL 650 at the time of the incident, which occurred on Hinckley Reservoir in Hinckley, New York.

Mazzola Law Firm will be handling this matter in collaboration with Baker & Zimmerman, PA.

Those interested in following this matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.

On May 26, 2017, Mazzola Law Firm, in collaboration with Baker and Zimmerman, P.A., filed the matter of Ravazzani v. Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA in the District Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida. For those interested, the following press release includes more details about the case as well as a link to the complaint:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/06/prweb14391152.htm

 

 

I came across this article last night and found it to be well-written:

http://www.superyachtnews.com/opinion/do-pwcs-do-enough-to-mitigate-risk

On June 14, 2016, 29 year old Clara Ravazzani sustained massive, internal orifice injuries when she fell off the back of a Yamaha Waverunner and came into contact with the jet thrust from the watercraft’s jet propulsion system. At the time of the incident, Ravazzani was riding behind her boyfriend Pete Rosa’s daughter, on a 3-seater waverunner that Rosa was driving.

Ravazzani’s injuries required the surgical implantation of a colostomy bag and were so severe that she nearly succumbed due to blood loss. Without Rosa’s quick intervention and insistence that she be life-flighted to Miami’s Ryder Trauma Center, Ravazzani’s injuries would likely have proved fatal.  The incident occurred in northern Biscayne Bay, near Boca Chita Key. 

Clara Ravazzani is being represented by the Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC.

Those interested in following the Ravazzani v. Yamaha matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.