ATV Accident Claims The Life Of A 12-Year-Old Boy In New York

It was a sunny day in Elma, NY and one family was enjoying their afternoon by riding around on ATVs. They didn’t imagine for a second that tragedy would strike in the blink of an eye. But it did.

Our child injury law firm in New York handles similar cases and can assist you if your child has been injured in a traumatic accident. Contact our legal team to schedule a confidential appointment.

ATV Flips Onto A Child

In April of 2017, a 12-year-old boy was riding an ATV. He was attempting to go up a hill when the wheels of the ATV struck a tree root. Instead of simply failing to move forward, the vehicle flipped and rolled back onto the boy. Despite the fact that he was wearing the appropriate protective helmet, he was diagnosed with a serious brain injury after being rushed to the Buffalo’s Women and Children's Hospital.

He was placed in intensive care and put on life support because he was unable to breathe on his own. A few days later, his family announced that he wouldn’t recover and they had made the heartbreaking decision to take him off of life support and donate his organs so that others could live.

Sadly, this victim isn’t the first - this accident occurred just after an adult man was found pinned under an ATV who also succumbed to his injuries and just before an adult woman was killed, a teenage girl was killed, and another teenage girl was seriously injured, all in ATV accidents.

ATV Accidents: An All Too Common Occurrence

While these vehicles, which by their very name are supposed to be “all-terrain”, may seem safe, they aren’t. In just 2015, emergency rooms saw more than 98,000 cases of injury due to an ATV accident and almost 30% of all of these patients were under the age of 16.

This number doesn’t include those who were instantly killed during an accident.

Most ATVs are not equipped with a roll bar or even a safety belt, so when the vehicle unexpectedly rolls over, there isn’t much to stop the heavy machine from crushing anyone who is caught beneath it. Most victims sustain a serious head injury, spinal injury, or broken bone.

What Rights Do An ATV Accident Victim Have?

Most people don’t realize that they may be eligible to pursue legal action after their accident. However, if another party’s negligence caused the accident, they may be held liable and the victim may be able to obtain the compensation that can help them pay for medical bills, lost wages, and more.

How Could Someone Else Be Negligent?

Just because the victim was the one driving the ATV doesn’t mean another party’s negligence didn’t contribute to the accident. Negligent acts and parties may include:

• a person or company who has failed to properly instruct the person who will be using their equipment
• a person or company who has allowed a child to operate an ATV that was designed to be used by an adult
• a person or company who failed to maintain the vehicle properly, resulting in a part breaking that caused the accident
• a person or company who allowed passengers to exceed the maximum number of people allowed or the maximum weight allowed.
• a company, manufacturer, or designer who created a defective part on the ATV that resulted in the accident

If it can be determined that negligence occurred, the victims or the loved ones of a victim who has passed may be able to file an ATV accident lawsuit against the responsible party.

How Much Does It Cost To File?

At Banville Law, we don’t want our clients to feel like they are unable to pursue legal action because of cost. That’s why we work on a contingency fee.

This means that any fee we recover from you is taken directly out of money we obtain for you through either a carefully negotiated settlement or successful verdict. We discuss our fees up front so there are no surprises. If we don’t win your case, you pay us nothing.