ATV Company to Pay Nearly $1M Settlement

ELIZABETH WOLFE

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Polaris Industries Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle allegations it belatedly reported defects and hazards on some of its all-terrain vehicles, the first such penalty involving ATVs, the government announced Thursday.

The defects were linked to dozens of accidents and at least 25 injuries from December 1998 to February 2001, including burns, torn muscles, scrapes and bruises, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Two separate CPSC investigations found that Polaris, based in Medina, Minn., allegedly made engineering changes to certain ATV models after receiving injury and accident reports, but before informing the government of any problems, as federal law requires.

Polaris said in a statement that it "vigorously disagrees" with the allegations and denied any wrongdoing, but that it agreed to the $950,000 settlement to avoid continuing legal costs.

In an interview, CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton said he hoped the penalty would serve as a deterrent to other companies seeking to avoid reporting substantial product hazards.

According to the commission, between December 1998 and May 2000, Polaris received 88 reports of throttles sticking in the controls of three of its ATV models - the Scrambler, Sport and Xplorer 400 - a defect that can prevent the machines from slowing or stopping.

Seven injuries were reported, including a dislocated hip and a broken shoulder. After three engineering changes, the company reported the problems in May 2000, prompting a recall that August, CPSC said.

The second case involved Xpedition, Trail Boss and Magnum 325 models, which had oil lines that blew off, disconnected or loosened, resulting in spraying of hot, pressurized oil, CPSC said. Between March 1999 and February 2001, the company received nearly 1,450 reports of such accidents, including 42 fires and 18 injuries. As before, Polaris allegedly made engineering changes before reporting problems to the CPSC, and eventually announced a recall.

The CPSC has been criticized for dragging its feet on monitoring the ATV industry. While sales of the vehicles - designed to travel over dirt, rocks and trails - are in the hundreds of thousands and increasing annually, consumer and health advocates doubt their safety for children under 16 and have urged the government to regulate sales to younger riders.

The commission has reported more than 5,000 ATV-related deaths since 1982, with children under 16 accounting for about a third. Stratton said new 2003 data would be released this month.

"We are facing an epidemic in the country and we need the CPSC to show strong and effective leadership, and that has not happened yet," said Rachel Weintraub, assistant general counsel for Consumer Federation of America.

The federation and several other consumer and physician groups filed a petition in 2002 asking the CPSC to make it illegal to sell adult-sized ATVs intended for children. Stratton said he hopes to respond to the petition soon, but could not give a timeframe.

Without revealing how the commission might rule, Stratton said: "We can pass a regulation that said that. Now, whether we can enforce a regulation like that is a whole different kettle of fish."

In the interview Wednesday, he addressed the broader issue of safety measures riders can take to avoid accidents, including wearing a helmet, riding solo on one-seater vehicles and staying off pavement.

 

Thats a bunch of crap. you ride an atv you could crash and get hurt. Thats should be an accepted responsibility on your part. did those persons who had such issues keep their cables cleaned and lubed? if you dont understand there is a killwitch on the bike and know how to use it. please stay off of them.

 

I agree, look out honda,yamaha, you will be next. Just like the woman that spilled hot coffee on her from McDonalds. I think she got a million bucks out of it.

 

Frivelous lawsuites have to stop. they will destroy anything potentially fun. and I wondered why ATV's did't get engines like Snowmobiles and streetbikes. Its cuz people that ride atv's apperantly arn't savvy enough to handle it so they need to be protected. This just sucks.

 

Polaris didn't pay out any money for a lawsuit, they were inposed a civil penalty by the CPSC for not reporting death or injuries in a timely manner. I guess Polaris has to report a death or injury within 24 hours to the CPSC or they are in violation. Polaris tried to fix their mistake before they reported the problem. I think that the CPSC is just trying to keep Polaris honest and protect the consumer and I like it.

 

the mcdonalds incident happened here in Albuquerque, but I'm pretty sure the court overturned the decision and she didn't get squat....

anyways, these things are going to happen, you have to remember we're in the US, land of lawsuits...usually BS...because of lawyers looking to make a buck

 

exactly, if there is something wrong with an atv and you have it reported failing 1400 time you think you would let someone know.

 

The weird part about sticking throttle cables is that I thought the ETC was supposed to fix that ... unless the actual throttle lever stuck.

 

I had a Banshee and if i rode through alot of water the throttle would stick, something yamaha said was inpossible.

 

One other thing.. frivolous lawsuits do suck (not saying this is necessarily one of them). But darn if my jetskis and ATVs don't have more warning stickers on them than graphics. In general, people need to step up to the plate and take responsibilty instead of blaming deep pockets. Have you guys ever read any of those warning stickers?? They are freakin' stupid.

Here is the McDonalds outcome:

The “McDonald’s coffee” case. We have all heard it: a woman spills McDonald's coffee, sues and gets $3 million. Here are the facts of this widely misreported and misunderstood case:

Stella Liebeck, 79 years old, was sitting in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car having purchased a cup of McDonald’s coffee. After the car stopped, she tried to hold the cup securely between her knees while removing the lid. However, the cup tipped over, pouring scalding hot coffee onto her. She received third-degree burns over 16 percent of her body, necessitating hospitalization for eight days, whirlpool treatment for debridement of her wounds, skin grafting, scarring, and disability for more than two years. Morgan, The Recorder, September 30, 1994. Despite these extensive injuries, she offered to settle with McDonald’s for $20,000. However, McDonald’s refused to settle. The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages -- reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her 20 percent at fault -- and $2.7 million in punitive damages for McDonald’s callous conduct. (To put this in perspective, McDonald's revenue from coffee sales alone is in excess of $1.3 million a day.) The trial judge reduced the punitive damages to $480,000. Subsequently, the parties entered a post-verdict settlement. According to Stella Liebeck’s attorney, S. Reed Morgan, the jury heard the following evidence in the case: