The California products liability lawyers at Bisnar | Chase have represented many clients who have sustained serious injuries as a result of accidents involving ATV product defects. In California, we constantly hear about teenagers and young children who are injured or killed in ATV accidents. Recently, a news article in the Redding Record Searchlight reported about a teenager who sustained major injuries in an ATV accident on August 21, 2009 in Tehama County, California. The teen was airlifted to an area hospital soon after the crash. His name or age was not released. The ATV accident occurred near Highway 36 and Ball Road, California Highway Patrol officials said.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of this young man. Dealing with major or catastrophic injuries where it involves young victims, is extremely devastating for their families as well. This teenager may have a long road to recovery, but I hope he has a complete recovery from his significant injuries. Please keep him in your prayers.

ATV Accident Statistics

Hundreds of young people, especially children 16 years or younger, are catastrophically injured or killed in ATV accidents each year. According to a recent study done by the Children’s Hospital of Ohio, more than 136,000 people nationwide go to emergency rooms each year as a result of ATV accident related injuries. One-third of these crashes usually involve children who are 16 years old or younger and hundreds of young people suffer serious personal injuries including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries that can leave them disabled for the rest of their lives.

This news report provides very few details about this fatal California ATV accident. There are several unanswered questions here. Who was driving the ATV? Was the teen a passenger? Was he belted or was he wearing any safety gear during the ATV accident? If this was a juvenile, was he under adult supervision? If so, who was supervising him at the time? Did the accident involve a defective product? Was the ATV he was riding recalled at any point in time? Were there any other vehicles involved in this accident? Were alcohol or drugs a factor? Answering these questions will help determine who or what caused the accident and whether anyone’s negligence contributed to it.

California Personal Injury Lawyer

It would be in the best interest of the family of this young ATV accident victim to contact an experienced California personal injury lawyer, who will help them find answers to these troubling questions. If there was a product defect involved, a skilled products liability attorney will have the ATV examined by experts for product defects, malfunction or other evidence.
This incident should serve as a reminder to us again, that children and ATVs do not go together. If your child cannot drive a car, he or she does not have the skill to drive an all-terrain vehicle, which can reach speeds of 100 mph and typically weighs many thousand pounds. Please do not let your young children drive ATVs and if they ride along as passengers, please make sure that they are restrained and are wearing safety gear.