Side-by-sides, ATVs, and the rest of the things the powersports industry is made up of are, well, inherently dangerous vehicles. They are, after all, mostly machines that don't offer the same sort of safety systems as a car, truck, or SUV. And that's their inherent draw, too.
But given their nature, it doesn't take much for them to go from somewhat dangerous to really dangerous. And that's often the case when a part fails or is faulty from the factory, as apparently is the case with this lawsuit levied against UTV-maker Polaris.
According to the lawsuit, the Plaintiff, Danielle Thomason, was riding as a passenger in a Polaris side-by-side in Nevada in 2019. The machine was a 2018 Polaris RZR XP 4, which inadvertently rolled. It's not an uncommon thing to occur for side-by-sides. However, according to Thomason, the RZR's door latch was faulty from the factory, resulting in the door opening and her sustaining wrist and arm injuries due to the crash.
The judge in the case has already decided to rule in favor of Thomason. But now, it's up to a jury to decide how much she gets. How much is she asking for? A cool $95 million. Whistles.
According to Courtoom View Network, "Judge Crystal Eller already found Polaris liable for Thomason’s injuries in pretrial rulings, leaving the Clark County jury tasked solely with determining the appropriate amount of compensatory damages and potentially punitive damages. Polaris maintains Thomason’s supposed recovery from her injuries warrants a more 'reasonable' compensatory award and that no basis exists to award punitive damages."
Thomason's lawyer opened their arguments showing the jury how the defective latch could become easily unlocked, as well as argued that Polaris had internal documents showing the company knew about the defective part. "They knew that this Polaris vehicle, this RZR, was defective,” Thomason's attorney Caleb Meyer said, adding, “Most important what you’re going to hear is that to this day they haven’t issued a single warning to the public about it.”
On the other side of the courtroom, Polaris' lawyer opened by saying that the judge had already found in favor of the plaintiff, but that the monetary payout should be commensurate with the actual injuries, and that Thomason had "Thankfully...recovered substantially from her injuries." But that'll be up to the jury to decide whether to award her the full amount or something considerably less.
This one is still playing out, so stay tuned to find out what happens.
