Friday, August 28, 2009

ST. PAUL PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS DISCUSS PERSONAL WATER CRAFT OR JET SKI HAZARDS - PART 3

MINNESOTA PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWYERS SPEAK OUT ON WHAT MANUFACTUERS OF PERSONAL WATER CRAFTS AND JET SKIS SHOULD BE DOING TO KEEP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY SAFE

In my last two entries, I discussed the problem of body cavity injuries the can occur if a person - usually a passenger - falls of the back of a jet ski or personal water craft into the jet wash. I also discussed how including fine print warnings on the back of the jet ski doesn't fix the problem and won't, in my opinion, absolve the manufacturer of product liability claims.

So what should a manufacturer do? There are a few simple and cost effective answers. First, manufacturers should install seat-backs on the back of these multi-passnger crafts. The seatbacks don't have to extend up two feet. Many manufacturers, including Yamaha and Kawasaki, are using shorter seat-backs on some of their crafts that help to keep passengers from falling off the back. These seat-backs should, in my opinion, be on every mulit-passenger craft.

Second, most of these jet skis just don't have a good place for the passenger to hold on. They should have grab handles on the sides of the seats that are easy to find and hold on to.

And last, all personal water crafts have to have a lanyard that attaches to passengers as well as the driver. If the driver falls off, the lanyard pulls from the machine and cuts the engine. For years, manufacturers have been saying that lanyards don't work for passengers because they don't cut the engine quickly enough to avoid body cavity injuries. Of course, with the money they've spent defending their designs, they may have been able to develop a lanyard shut off switch that could have solved the problem.

If you need to speak with a personal water craft or jet ski attorney, call product liability lawyer, Nate Bjerke of Champion Law in St. Paul, Minnesota at 651.766.5886.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

ST. PAUL PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS DISCUSS PERSONAL WATER CRAFT OR JET SKI HAZARDS - PART 2

MINNESOTA PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWYERS WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE ON PERSONAL WATER CRAFTS AND JET SKIS


In my last blog entry, I discussed the potential for horrific orifice injuries that can happen if a person falls off the back of a personal water craft or jet ski. People who fall off the back often land on their back with their feet up in the air, leaving themselves open to the jet thrust of water that propels these crafts. The injuries are life changing and can literally rip out a persons insides. So why do these injuries happen? Because manufacturers have ignored one of the most basic rules of product design.


THE DESIGN TRILOGY
In designing products and Minnesota product liability law, there is a long-held axiom that manufacturers must analyze the potential product for hazards. After identifying the hazards, the designer or manufacturer must then follow a three step process: 1) determine if it is feasible to eliminate the hazard by simply designing it out of the product; 2) if the hazard cannot be designed out of the product, there should be a guard installed. An example is a guard on a punch press or other industrial equipment that prevents users from getting their hands caught in dangreous areas of the machine; and 3) if it is not feasible to either design out the hazard or guard against it, the manufacturer must warn users about the hazard.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers of personal water crafts and jet skis have moved straight to the third option and left a dangerous design that allows people to fall off the back of the crafts into the jet wash. They use fine-print warnings like the one shown above.

In the next entry of this blog, I will discuss the things manufacturers of personal water craft and jet skis should be doing to eliminate this hazard.

If you have any questions about Minnesota product liability law, personal water craft lawsuits or jet ski lawsuits, visit the Champion Law web-site or call product liability attorney, Nate Bjerke, at 651.766.5886.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

ST. PAUL PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS DISCUSS PERSONAL WATER CRAFT (JET SKI) INJURIES UNKNOWN TO MOST MINNESOTANS

MINNESOTA PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWYERS WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE ON PERSONAL WATER CRAFTS AND JET SKIS



A largely unknown risk of riding personal water crafts like the one shown here relates to falling off the back of the craft. If riders of these jet skis are not wearing wet-suits or other protective clothing and they fall off the back, they can suffer serious internal injuries from the personal water craft's jet propulsion. The water stream created by the craft can thrust water into the person's orifices, causing devastating injuries.



Manufacturers like Polaris, Sea Doo and Kawasaki have known about this danger for years. In response, they starting placing warning labels warning of "orifice injuries" on the back of these products (in tiny print) and in owner's manuals since about 2002. But these warnings just aren't effective. First, they often aren't read - especially by passengers who are likely to be on the back of these personal water crafts. Second, if they are read, the odds of a passenger having a wet-suit handy are slim.



So what should the manufacturer's do? I'll discuss that issue in my next blog entry.



If you have questions about a personal water craft or jet ski injury, contact a Minnesota product liabilty lawyer like me, Nate Bjerke, of Champion Law LLC at 651.766.5886.