On March 26, 2023, Paige V. of Spring, Texas was riding as a passenger on a 2017 Yamaha Waverunner VX Deluxe when she fell off the back of the watercraft and sustained massive, hydrostatic injuries to her rectum and colon. The damage to her intestines was so severe that she was forced to undergo the surgical implantation of a colostomy bag.
Yamaha is well aware of the risk of orifice injuries as it has been sued dozens of times (dating back to 1991) by women that, like Paige, sustained severe colorectal injuries upon falling off the back of Yamaha manufactured PWCs. So not only is Yamaha well aware of the nature, mechanism and severity of PWC orifice injuries, but it is also aware of the fact that such injuries have continued to occur on its products for over thirty years (and, not surprisingly, with increased frequency as increasingly more powerful machines are manufactured and released into the market). Likewise, there is a mountain of evidence establishing Yamaha’s knowledge of the existence of safer alternative designs which would prevent injuries such as those sustained by Paige, including a raised seatback with more lumbar support, and Yamaha owned patents of modified seat designs and handholds (with the stated purpose of reducing the risk of rearward ejections). Despite its knowledge of such alternative designs, 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.
Paige is being represented by Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC. The case, styled Paige V. v. Yamaha Motor Corporation, will be filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Lufkin Division.
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