Yamaha Rhino Lawsuits: Parents Charge Design Flaws Led to Fatal Accident
On October 18, 2008, Emily Ann Bates and Lauren Elizabeth Dilworth, both 11 years old, were riding a Yamaha Rhino at a slow speed. Unexpectedly, the vehicle rolled over pinning Emily Ann Bates underneath and causing severe trauma to her head. Emergency personnel rushed Emily to the emergency room of Baptist-DeSoto Hospital in Southaven, Mississippi, where she was pronounced dead. Lauren was pronounced dead at the scene.
On March 31, 2010, both the Bates and Dilworth families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Corporation and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America.
Commenting on their daughter, Melissa and Richard Lee Bates, of Southaven, Mississippi, stated:
Photo of Emily Bates
“Emily Ann was a very happy child. She always had a smile on her face, loved her friends and siblings. She was a 6th grader at Southaven Middle School where she played the trumpet in band. When Emily was 4 she took up soccer. Soccer became her passion, playing year round. She had great dreams of playing on the U.S. Olympic Soccer team.”
Commenting on their daughter, Aundria and Thomas Dilworth, Olive Branch, Mississippi, stated:
Photo of Lauren Dilworth
“Lauren Elizabeth was an amazing child her entire life. She was an honor roll student until her untimely death, she was in the gifted programs at both Hampton Cove Elementary in Huntsville, Alabama, and at Lewisburg Middle School. These programs allowed her to attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. She was always interested in dance and was able to take 2 years of ballet while our family lived in Huntsville, Alabama before moving to Mississippi.
Mark P. Chalos of the national plaintiffs’ law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is representing both the Bates and Dilworth families in wrongful death lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Corporation and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America.
“The lawsuit charges that the Yamaha Rhino is dangerously unstable and contains multiple design and engineering flaws increasing the likelihood of fatal injuries to occupants in the event of an accident,” stated Mr. Chalos. “Yamaha’s disregard for safety and the numerous defects in the Rhino, as alleged in the complaint, led to the deaths of Emily Ann Bates and Lauren Elizabeth Dilworth.”
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