(Birmingham, AL) March 31, 2009 -   Yamaha Motor Corp USA today recalled one of the most popular off road vehicles on the market- the Yamaha Rhino. Yamaha and the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the recall affecting some 120 thousand vehicles and warned Rhino owners not to operate their vehicles until taking them into a dealership for repairs and safety modifications.  All Rhino 450 and 660 model vehicles were included in the recall. The action comes after more than 46 deaths and hundreds of catastrophic injuries were reported in Rhino accidents across the U.S.

“Yamaha has known of these serious safety threats for years, but has repeatedly failed to admit there’s a problem.” said attorney Jason Shamblin of the Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris law firm. “Today’s Rhino recall amounts to an admission that the Rhino is dangerous. It has serious design flaws that can lead to deadly accidents even when the vehicles are operated at low speed on flat terrain.”   Lawsuits filed against Yamaha allege the Rhino is prone to rollover accidents, and because of defects in its design, may result in broken or crushed arms, legs, feet, and ankles. 

Shamblin says Cory Watson is at the forefront of Yamaha Rhino litigation, representing one hundred fifty people injured or killed in Rhino accidents. “Hundreds of people have suffered devastating, life-changing injuries and many have died because of the design defects in the Yamaha Rhino,” said Shamblin who notes that the lawsuits allege Yamaha knew of the dangers, yet failed to adequately warn consumers. Shamblin points out that in 2007 Yamaha  issued its first recall, offering to retrofit older models with doors.

“With this second recall, I can’t contemplate that Yamaha would continue to deny in litigation that its Rhino has serious design flaws”, said Shamblin. As Rhino owners learn more about the safety issues, hundreds of lawsuits hang in the balance. The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation recently ordered that all Yamaha Rhino rollover Federal lawsuits be consolidated before a Federal Judge in Kentucky. The action centralizes the Federal suits into Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL”) so that all pretrial discovery and litigation from all Federal Rhino cases will be heard in one court.

Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris is recognized nationally for its practice in multidistrict litigation and complex litigation including class actions, personal injury, products liability, business and securities litigation, environmental litigation and mass torts litigation of defective medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

For more information please contact rhino@cwcd.com or phone toll free 1-800-852-6299