Are jet skis unsafe? Buddy Rake, a partner in the Phoenix, Arizona law firm of O'Connor, Cavanaugh, Anderson, Westover, Killingsworth and Beshears thinks so. He believes that in five years, jet skis will have the same disastrous impact on society that all-terrain vehicles are currently having.
Coast Guard statistics show that between 1974 and 1986, there were 1144 reported accidents involving Kawasaki jet skis. Of those 1144 accidents, almost half (511) occurred in 1985 and 1986. Eighty eight percent involved a collision of a jet ski with another object.
By the Coast Guard's own estimate, less than 25% of the actual casualties are reported. Thus the actual figures for accidents are probably at least four times the reported 1144 accidents.
In an ongoing suit against Kawasaki, Buddy Rake, states that Kawasaki will tell you from the start that there is no reason to sue the parent Japanese company since the product is manufactured and distributed by two American subsidiaries. Mr. Rake cautions that you may find yourself in court without a primary defendant, and with the statute of limitations having run.
You should consider naming three entities:
1. Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U. S. A. who manufactures jet skis in the United States.
2. Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., who distributes jet skis within the United States, and
3. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Inc., Japan, which designed, tested and prepared the warnings contained on the jet ski, and in the owners manual.
In December 1987, Mr. Rake was successful in taking the deposition of Hiroshi Nishida, the engineer for Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan, who was in charge of the design and testing of the Kawasaki jet ski. This is the first time anyone has been able to take Mr. Nishida's deposition.
Currently, the deposition and documents produced for it are under seal of the court. Four previous protective orders which had been filed against the plaintiffs in Parker v Kawasaki have been defeated, and in the current attempt, Mr. Nishida has been ordered to appear in court to explain factually why the documents provided should be sealed. It is fully expected that the plaintiff will prevail at the hearing and the documents will become available to other attorneys suing Kawasaki.
Information for this article was taken from an article appearing in the winter edition of ON PLANE, a newsletter of the American Pleasure Boat Safety Association.
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