Snell & Wilmer Secures Complete Defense Verdict for Yamaha in Product Liability Lawsuit Involving Off-Road Vehicle Crash

ORANGE COUNTY – Snell & Wilmer attorneys Daniel S. Rodman, Vaughn A. Crawford and Katharine H. Adams secured a complete defense verdict on September 1, 2026, in a product liability lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. and its parent corporation in Japan and a subsidiary company in Georgia.  The case involved a crash of a 2016 Yamaha YXZ side-by-side offroad vehicle that occurred in October 2019.  The trial took place in Orange County, California. 

Plaintiff John Van Camp, aged 58, was driving the YXZ with his adult son on a family trip to the Imperial Sand Dunes in Glamis, California when he drove over an approximately 3-foot-high sand berm at 30 mph, causing the YXZ to pitch forward and roll over in a forward direction one complete revolution.  Plaintiff contended that the YXZ was defective in design because its rollover protective structure (or “ROPS”), “collapsed downward onto Mr. Van Camp” during the crash, causing him catastrophic injuries.  Plaintiff, who was wearing his seatbelt and a helmet, suffered cervical spine fractures requiring that he be airlifted to a hospital in San Diego for emergency spinal surgery.  Plaintiff also claimed to have suffered a debilitating traumatic brain injury, which was disputed by Yamaha.  The Plaintiff’s wife, who witnessed the crash, also sued seeking loss of consortium damages arising from the injuries to her husband.

The Plaintiffs also claimed that the YXZ’s rear suspension had a dangerous propensity to “buck like a donkey” which caused the rollover, and that Yamaha was negligent in failing to recall the YXZ, alleging that prior rollover accidents involving the YXZ put Yamaha on notice of dangerous defects in the YXZ.  Plaintiffs sought punitive damages against Yamaha, claiming it acted with malice in the design of the YXZ and by failing to recall the vehicle. 

Yamaha defended the case by showing that the crash was much more severe than Plaintiffs claimed, and that Mr. Van Camp was driving the YXZ improperly and he did not see the berm until it was too late and he panicked and slammed on the brakes, causing the YXZ to pitch forward and overturn.  Although the YXZ’s rollover protective structure was damaged in the crash, the design was not defective, and the ROPS absorbed the energy of the crash to minimize the risk of injury to the occupants.  Yamaha presented testing showing that the YXZ’s ROPS exceeded the industry standards for ROPS strength for side-by-side vehicles, and conducted extensive testing of alternative design ROPS offered by Plaintiffs to show they would not have prevented Plaintiff’s cervical spine injury in the accident.  Yamaha showed that Plaintiff’s ongoing complaints of neck pain were due to preexisting degenerative cervical spine disease and not his fractured cervical vertebrae.  Yamaha also presented evidence that Plaintiff did not suffer a traumatic brain injury, and presented testing conducted with helmeted and instrumented head forms to show that the risk of a brain injury in this crash was less than 0.1%.  Yamaha argued that Mr. Van Camp’s claims of cognitive and memory impairment were due to unrelated issues, including aging, pain from his unrelated degenerative spine disease, and untreated sleep apnea.

During closing arguments, the Plaintiffs’ lawyers asked the jury to award $80 million in compensatory damages, and an additional $240 million in punitive damages.  After an eight-week trial, the 12-person jury returned a verdict for Yamaha on all counts after only 90 minutes of deliberations.

Snell & Wilmer’s Product Liability Litigation team is one of the largest and most experienced product liability defense practices in the country, representing manufacturers, distributors, and insurers in complex litigation involving a wide range of products, including consumer goods, automotive products, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, industrial equipment, food products, and emerging technologies. The team regularly serves as national trial and coordinating counsel in state and federal courts nationwide, handling matters ranging from catastrophic injury claims to class actions and mass torts. In addition to defending litigation, the group works proactively with clients to identify and mitigate potential risks before disputes arise, advising on product design, manufacturing processes, regulatory compliance, document retention, and litigation preparedness. By combining extensive trial experience, strategic litigation management, and a nationwide network of trusted local counsel and technical experts, Snell & Wilmer delivers cost-effective, business-focused solutions designed to minimize liability exposure and protect clients’ interests.

**The result portrayed was dependent on the facts of that case, and the results will differ if based on different facts.