The popularity of ATVs has grown tremendously over the years, reaching 9.5 million vehicles in 2007. Accordingly, the rate of traumatic brain and spinal injuries resulting from ATV accidents has also risen, especially in children. Between 1982 and 2007, nearly 9000 riders died in ATV accidents and approximately 40% of them were children under age

Last month Judge Swigert, of Florida, overturned a jury verdict in Ford’s favor.  The judge decided that that Ford had systematically concealed more than 30 years of data related to the problem of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and unintended acceleration (UA). The Judge’s 51-page decision lists Ford’s bad acts which include:

  • lying to NHTSA,
  • destroying evidence that

A parent can sometimes be liable for the harm his or her minor child causes to others.

Here are some situations in which, in California, a parent is automatically liable:

  • When the parent has signed  the child’s driver’s license application, and the child’s driving hurts someone (but the parent’s liability is limited to $15,000 per person

Does the recent NASA report spell trouble for the plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Toyota Unintended Acceleration Litigation?

No. Electronic malfunction was not the sole theory relied upon by victims of unintended acceleration. The strategy in most product defect litigation is (1) identify an aspect of the products design that caused the injury; and (2) show

What, exactly, does the the widely publicized NASA report say about whether Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems are caused by faulty electronics? According to DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, the NASA report concludes that there is "no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration."

But the consumer group Safety Research & Strategies, Inc. does not believe the

A vehicle spins out on a wet road or highway. It crosses the median divide and ends up in oncoming traffic. If the vehicle is an SUV or van, it may even roll.

The driver wasn’t speeding. And the road may have been perfectly straight. So what happened? Just another hydroplaning accident? Driver error? Maybe.