Case Details
- Result: $39,000,000 jury verdict (confidential post-trial settlement)
- Court: Palm Beach County
- Defendant: Yamaha Motor Corp. USA
- Type of Case: Product Defect — Off-Throttle Steering
- Outcome: Fatality and Severe Injury
Case Summary
Robert Baker won a $39 million jury verdict against Yamaha Motor Corp. USA in a WaveRunner collision case involving an off-throttle steering defect. The defect claimed the life of one teenager and left another scarred and mutilated for life.
Plaintiff Archer was the operator and Perez was a passenger; the two cases were consolidated. The plaintiff alleged the WaveRunner was defective because it lacked off-throttle steering. Following a five-week trial, the jury returned the largest award in the United States for a defect claim against a personal watercraft manufacturer.
Yamaha has since altered its design by adding the Yamaha Engine Management System (YEMS), in which RPMs are automatically increased when the throttle is released, allowing for steering control. This record-setting verdict drove industry-wide design changes that continue to protect personal watercraft riders today.