Parents Against the Production of Unsafe ATVs  (PAPA)

Bennett Settles ATV Case with Honda and Yamaha, but Steps-up Pressure on ATV Industry to Make Safer ATVs 

On May 19, 1994 Travis Hagy was operating a 1985 Honda 250 ES on his farm when his foot became entangled in the wheel pulling him off the machine and throwing him to the ground. His head and body hit the ground with such a force that he suffered severe physical and neurological injuries and damage. The permanent brain damage resulting from the incident left Mr. Hagy unable to care for himself or his family. Mr. Hagy and his wife, Jill Hagy, sued American Honda Motor Co., a California corporation, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., a foreign corporation, and Honda R&D Co., Ltd., a foreign corporation, charging that the Honda three-wheeler was inherently dangerous beyond the contemplation of the ordinary consumer. The Hagys alleged the entire design of the vehicle is defective, caused by an inadequate process of design and testing. The general categories of design defects which the Hagy’s alleged to have caused the injury include instability and a tendency to tip during turning, unpredictability, the benign and deceptive appearance of the vehicle, and the failure of defendants to install an appropriate foot guard to prevent entrapment of the driver’s foot.

After years of litigation resulting in a one million dollar verdict followed by numerous appeals and delays, the Hagys retained ATV litigation attorney Robert S. Bennett, of the Houston based national trial law firm, Bennett Law Firm, P.C.. Bennett, who has earned a national reputation as a major figure in ATV investigation and litigation, played a key role in investigations into the ATV industry in the 1980s which lead to the CPSC General Counsel's Office pressuring the ATV industry to voluntarily ban three-wheeled vehicles. Bennett’s investigation of the Hagy case uncovered numerous prior similar incidents involving foot entrapment accidents on Honda ATCs designed and marketed in the 1980s and 1990s. 

By May of 2002, Mr. Bennett had numerous similar accident victims ready to testify at the Haggy trial about the dangerous design of the Honda ACT. However, just weeks before the case had been reset for trial, Honda offered Bennett’s client a confidential settlement to keep the case from going to a jury. In prior cases against Honda, Mr. Bennett has won jury verdicts for up to $30 million. Nevertheless, Mr. Bennett was able to negotiate a confidential settlement that he believed was in the Hagy’s best interest to accept. While the terms of the settlement require it to remain confidential, Mr. Bennett says that the Hagys were pleased with the generous amount they received and the opportunity to bring closure to a long and difficult fight.

While these three-wheeled vehicles are no longer manufactured thanks to the governmental pressures of the CPSC, Bennett believes the ATV industry should recall these defective products to protect unsuspecting consumers like the Hagys. Recently, Mr. Bennett, with the help of PAPA – (Parents Against the Production of Unsafe ATVs.), a Texas consumer group, turned over numerous documents to the CPSC in connection with another case Bennett settled with Yamaha for $3.2 million last September. Bennett hopes that this new data will help the CPSC pressure the ATV industry to make their four-wheel vehicles safer for the public recall all three-wheeled ATVs still in use.

For additional information contact Bob Bennett, The Bennett Law Firm, PC, Houston, TX at 713-225-6000 or bbennett@bennettlawfirm.com

Parents Against the Production of Unsafe ATVs (PAPA) media contacts,
Lilia Sharp, lilshaap@aol.com, 713-516-6800
Melissa A Black, Melissa.Black@kirtland.af.mil, 505-853-5365