Jet ski accident lawyer, along with co-counsel, won a hard-fought battle against Yamaha that lasted approximately five years and culminated in a six-week trial in West Palm Beach. The jet ski incident claimed the life of one teen, 14-year-old, and left another scarred and mutilated for life. Plaintiffs’ attorneys accused Yamaha Motor Corp. USA of failing to correct a known steering defect with the personal watercraft and then failing to adequately warn people that an operator could not steer without throttle. This defect was particularly dangerous for a first-time operator, such as our client, as she had no idea that she had to increase energy in a collision avoidance situation. The jury found that this defect resulted in them crashing into a boat and awarded a $39,000,000 verdict. Yamaha requested that the verdict be thrown out, but a Palm Beach County Circuit Judge rejected arguments raised by Yamaha’s attorneys and denied the manufacturer’s request to throw out the verdict.
