Kansas woman suffers massive internal injuries after falling off back of Jet Ski

On August 11, 2018, Stephanie West, a 45-year-old resident of Leoti, Kansas, was riding as a passenger on a 2016 Kawasaki Ultra LX Jet Ski in the seat position closest to the rear of the watercraft.  The operator had begun to gradually accelerate when Ms. West slid off the seat, falling directly behind the jet ski in close proximity to the PWC’s jet thrust propulsion system.  Upon landing in the water, the powerful blast from the jet drive penetrated her lower body orifices, causing massive, mutilating injuries to her vagina, anus, perineum, rectum, colon, and other internal organs.

Ms. West was life-flighted to a nearby emergency room where she underwent life-saving medical intervention. The severity and nature of her injuries necessitated the surgical implantation of a colostomy bag.

Kawasaki is well aware of the risk of orifice injuries, as it has been sued dozens of times for orifice related injuries, dating back to 1988. Throughout this time, Kawasaki has also been well aware of the fact that safer alternative designs exist that would prevent injuries such as those sustained by Stephanie from occurring. Despite its knowledge of such alternative designs (which include a raised seatback/backrest, properly designed handholds and properly designed seat straps), Kawasaki has chosen to violate core safety engineering principles by trying to warn its way out of a design defect.  Laughery, Kenneth et al. “The Safety Hierarchy and Its Role in Safety Decisions.” www.safetyhumanfactors.org.

Ms. West is being represented by Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC. Those interested in following the West v. Kawasaki matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.