CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Caleb Meyer showing jurors the type of door involved in the crash
Update Monday, Dec. 9 - The parties announced in court they reached a confidential settlement
Las Vegas, NV - A Nevada state court jury heard opening statements Friday in a products liability lawsuit seeking more than $95 million in damages for a woman who suffered serious wrist and arm injuries in an ATV rollover accident, and the full trial is being webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Danielle Thomason sued vehicle manufacturer Polaris Inc. following the 2019 crash, alleging a defective latch in the 2018 Polaris RZR XP 4’s door allowed it to open too easily, thus leaving her arm unprotected when the vehicle rolled over while she rode as a passenger.
Judge Crystal Eller already found Polaris liable for Thomason’s injuries in pretrial rulings, leaving the Clark County jury tasked solely with determining the appropriate amount of compensatory damages and potentially punitive damages. Polaris maintains Thomason’s supposed recovery from her injuries warrants a more “reasonable” compensatory award and that no basis exists to award punitive damages.
Thomason’s attorney Caleb Meyer explained to jurors during his opening statement how the RZR vehicle rolled over while she was off-roading in the Mojave Desert. He showed jurors the same type of door involved in the crash and demonstrated how it could become unlatched by tapping it gently on the courtroom floor.
Meyer claimed Polaris had internal evidence of problems with the door latches on RZR vehicles but didn’t take any action, a decision that he said supports an award of punitive damages.
“They knew that this Polaris vehicle, this RZR, was defective,” he said. “Most important what you’re going to hear is that to this day they haven’t issued a single warning to the public about it.”
He showed jurors graphic images of Thomason’s hand and arm following the accident, detailing the numerous reconstructive surgeries she required and the complications from a severe infection caused by dirt and sand getting into the wound.
While Thomason was fortunate to avoid narrowly amputation, Meyer said she still suffers from significantly reduced sensation and range of motion, which in combination with the psychological trauma of the event he claimed forced her to give up a well-paying corporate job.
Representing Polaris, defense attorney Hyongsoon Kim in a comparatively brief opening statement acknowledged to jurors that the court already found Polaris liable for Thomason’s injuries, but he argued her recovery has been more extensive than represented.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Hyongsoon Kim delivering his opening statement
Kim urged jurors to consider that Thomason supposedly won’t require any future medical care, and he said upcoming trial testimony would show she does not currently suffer from any major limitations.
“Thankfully Ms. Thomason has recovered substantially from her injuries,” he said.
CVN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial, available both live and on-demand, will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned Danielle Thomason v. Polaris Inc., case number A-21-840892-C in Clark County Circuit Court, Nevada.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
