On June 16, 2018, a minor from Adkins, Texas sustained massive, internal orifice injuries when she fell off the back of a personal watercraft and came into contact with the blast of water emanating from the watercraft’s jet thrust propulsion system. At the time of the accident, 16-year-old Jayden Brewer was riding as a passenger on her uncle’s new 2018 Yamaha Waverunner EX Sport.
Shortly after the accident, which occurred on Canyon Lake in Comal County, Texas, Jayden was rushed to a nearby emergency room for life-saving medical intervention. The damage to her intestines was so severe that she was forced to undergo the surgical implantation of an ileostomy bag, and almost succumbed due to blood loss. Not unlike other orifice injury cases, neither Jayden—nor her uncle who was driving at the time of the incident—had any idea something like that could ever happen. “I would never knowingly expose my niece to that kind of risk,” her uncle said.
Yamaha is well aware of the risk of orifice injuries, as it has been sued dozens of times for orifice related injuries, dating back to 1991. Throughout this time, Yamaha has also been well aware of the fact that safer alternative designs exist that would prevent injuries such as those sustained by Jayden from occurring. Despite its knowledge of such alternative designs (which include a raised seatback/backrest, properly designed handholds and properly designed seat straps), Yamaha has chosen to violate core safety engineering principles by trying to warn its way out of a design defect. Laughery, Kenneth et al. “The Safety Hierarchy and Its Role in Safety Decisions.” www.safetyhumanfactors.org.
Ms. Brewer is being represented by Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC. The case, styled Brewer v. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. et al, was filed in Comal County, Texas on April 28, 2020.
Those interested in following the Brewer 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.