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On Grey’s Anatomy, Season 18 Episode 3, (entitled “Hotter than Hell”), the medical team at Seattle’s fictitious Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital performed emergency surgery to repair the perforated rectum of a young lady rushed to the hospital after a jet ski accident. The paramedic relaying the patient’s condition to ER staff upon arrival diagnosed her as having sustained a “Hydrostatic Pelvic Injury” (a/k/a “PWC Orifice Injury” or “Jet Ski Rectal Injury”). “Water plowed up and cut through her entire pelvic region,” he said. “When she fell off a jet ski or was blasted off.” For a short clip of the scene, click here.

Why write about this you ask? What’s the significance of a fictitious patient being treated by fictitious doctors in a fictitious hospital? I’ll tell you why. Because although Grey’s Anatomy is founded in fiction,  there is nothing fictitious about Hydrostatic Pelvic Injuries. In fact, I personally know dozens of individuals (both women and men) that can tell you firsthand, that the injuries suffered by the young lady in the show are as real as the sky is blue.

Other than the nature and mechanism of their injuries, the individuals I speak of have (at least) one other thing in common: none of them had any idea that this type of life-threatening injury could result from something as common and seemingly harmless as slipping off the back of a personal watercraft. But the unfortunate and unknown reality is, it’s the equivalent of being blasted between the legs with a firehose.

PWC manufacturers, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Bombardier, are quite aware of the nature, mechanism and severity of Jet Ski Rectal Injuries, as well as the fact that such injuries have been occurring on their products for over thirty years. But despite this knowledge, and despite the mountain of evidence establishing the existence of safer alternative designs which would substantially reduce (if not entirely eliminate) the risk of Hydrostatic Pelvic Injuries (including PWC manufacturer owned patents of modified seat designs and handholds with the stated purpose of reducing the risk of rearward ejections), Yamaha, Kawasaki and Bombardier have collectively chosen to violate core safety engineering principles by attempting to warn their way out of a design defect.  Laughery, Kenneth et al. “The Safety Hierarchy and Its Role in Safety Decisions.” www.safetyhumanfactors.org.

And so the question remains:  How many more people have to be maimed or killed for these personal watercraft manufacturers to finally acknowledge that there’s a problem?

Brian Mazzola, founder of Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC, has been named to the 2021 list of Texas Super Lawyers, a respected legal guide that recognizes the top attorneys in the state. Mr. Mazzola is recognized for his work in the fields of products liability and general personal injury law.

The Texas Super Lawyers listing recognizes only the top 5 percent of practicing attorneys in Texas. Honorees are selected based on nominations from other practicing lawyers in Texas, which are then combined with independent research. In all, each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Being named to the 2021 Texas Super Lawyer list is just the latest of many accolades Mr. Mazzola has received since hanging out his shingle in 2008.  Since 2012, Mr. Mazzola has maintained an AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. An AV® rating is the highest possible rating a lawyer can receive, and a testament to the fact that the lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

Mr. Mazzola is also a life member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100, Lawyers of Distinction: Top 10% in the USA, a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and has received an Overall Client Rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 and a 10 out of 10 Suberb AVVO rating.

The 2021 Super Lawyers list will be published in the November issues of Super Lawyers and Texas Monthly magazines. To see the full list visit www.superlawyers.com.

On July 11, 2020, a minor from King William, Virginia sustained massive, internal orifice injuries when she fell off the back of a personal watercraft and came into contact with the blast of water emanating from the watercraft’s jet thrust propulsion system. At the time of the accident, 17-year-old Danielle Varner was riding as the second passenger on a 2020 Yamaha Waverunner VX Cruiser HO.

Shortly after the accident, which occurred on the Rappahannock River in Richmond County, Virginia, Danielle was rushed to a nearby emergency room for life-saving medical intervention. The water intrusion into her lower body orifices caused massive, mutilating injuries to her rectum and colon and nerve damage in her left leg. The damage to her rectum and colon was so severe that she was forced to undergo the surgical implantation of a colostomy bag. Not unlike other orifice injury accidents, neither Danielle—nor her friend who was driving at the time of the incident—had any idea that this type of life-threatening injury could result from something as common and seemingly harmless as slipping off the back of a personal watercraft.

Yamaha is well aware of the risk of orifice injuries, as it has been sued dozens of times for orifice related injuries, dating back to 1991. Throughout this time, Yamaha has also been well aware of the fact that safer alternative designs exist that would prevent injuries such as those sustained by Danielle from occurring. Despite its knowledge of such alternative designs (which include a raised seatback/backrest, properly designed handholds and properly designed seat straps), Yamaha 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. Varner is being represented by Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC. The case, styled Varner v. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. et al, was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on May 4, 2021.

Those interested in following the Varner v. Yamaha matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.

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.

On June 16, 2018, a minor from Adkins, Texas sustained massive, internal orifice injuries when she fell off the back of a personal watercraft and came into contact with the blast of water emanating from the watercraft’s jet thrust propulsion system. At the time of the accident, 16-year-old Jayden Brewer was riding as a passenger on her uncle’s new 2018 Yamaha Waverunner EX Sport.

Shortly after the accident, which occurred on Canyon Lake in Comal County, Texas, Jayden was rushed to a nearby emergency room for life-saving medical intervention. The damage to her intestines was so severe that she was forced to undergo the surgical implantation of an ileostomy bag, and almost succumbed due to blood loss. Not unlike other orifice injury cases, neither Jayden—nor her uncle who was driving at the time of the incident—had any idea something like that could ever happen. “I would never knowingly expose my niece to that kind of risk,” her uncle said.

Yamaha is well aware of the risk of orifice injuries, as it has been sued dozens of times for orifice related injuries, dating back to 1991. Throughout this time, Yamaha has also been well aware of the fact that safer alternative designs exist that would prevent injuries such as those sustained by Jayden from occurring. Despite its knowledge of such alternative designs (which include a raised seatback/backrest, properly designed handholds and properly designed seat straps), Yamaha 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. Brewer is being represented by Mazzola Law Firm, PLLC. The case, styled Brewer v. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. et al, was filed in Comal County, Texas on April 28, 2020.

Those interested in following the Brewer v. Yamaha matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.

While riding as a passenger on a Bombardier Sea Doo, 23 year old Ardelle Curran of Flower Mound, Texas fell off the back of the PWC and landed directly in the blast of water emanating from the PWC’s jet thrust propulsion system. The force of the jet blast penetrated her lower body orifices causing massive, mutilating injuries.  Ms. Curran was immediately life flighted to a nearby hospital where she underwent life saving medical intervention.

The accident occurred on Forest Lake in Forest Lake, Minnesota during a family reunion.

These horrific accidents will continue to occur—and with increased frequency due to increasingly powerful machines—so long as Bombardier, Yamaha and Kawasaki refuse to implement design modifications into their personal watercrafts that would prevent passengers from falling directly backwards into the path of the jet thrust. There is a mountain of evidence establishing Bombardier’s knowledge of the existence of safer alternative designs which would prevent injuries such as those sustained by Ms. Curran, including BRP owned patents of modified seat designs and handholds with the stated purpose of reducing the risk of rearward ejections.

Mazzola Law Firm will soon be filing suit against Bombardier Recreational Products (“BRP”) in Washington County, Minnesota.

Those interested in following the Curran v. BRP matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.

Mazzola Law Firm recently filed another PWC orifice injury lawsuit in Miami-Dade County, Florida on behalf of 27 year old Orlando resident, Yanais Acosta. Ms. Acosta sustained severe rectal and perineal injuries when she fell off the back of a Yamaha Waverunner and landed in the path of the blast of water emanating from the PWC’s jet thrust propulsion system.

She was immediately rushed by ambulance to a nearby emergency room where she received life-saving medical intervention, including the surgical implantation of a colostomy bag. The case, styled Acosta v. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. et al, involved Yamaha’s 2015 FZS SVHO model and occurred just north of Bal Harbour, Florida at Haulover Beach Park.

Those interested in following the Acosta v. Yamaha matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed. Fort Lauderdale based Sue-Ann Robinson of Robinson Caddy Law, P.A. is serving as local counsel in the case.

Mazzola Law Firm recently filed another personal watercraft orifice injury lawsuit on behalf of an 18-year-old Texas woman. On June 29, 2019, Celesta Stinson was riding as a passenger on a Sea-Doo near Rockport Beach, in Rockport, Texas when she slipped off the rear of the PWC and landed directly in the blast of water emanating from the PWC’s jet thrust propulsion system. The high-pressure stream of water caused massive, mutilating injuries to her perineum, anus, rectum and colon.

She was immediately rushed by ambulance to a nearby emergency room where she received life-saving medical intervention. The case, styled Stinson v. BRP, Inc., involved Bombardier’s 2019 RXT-X 300 model.

Those interested in following the Stinson v. BRP matter (or any matter referenced on this website) can check back for blog updates documenting case developments or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.

In an article from the Journal of Forensic Sciences 58(1) · August 2012, titled Forensic Epidemiologic and Biomechanical Analysis of a Pelvic Cavity Blowout Injury Associated with Ejection from a Personal Watercraft (Jet-Ski), the authors begin with a summary of the PWC propulsion system and the biomechanical analysis of the injury mechanism for (what they refer to as) “anovaginal ‘blowout’ injuries”. They write as follows:

“Jet-propelled personal watercraft (PWC) or jet-skis have become increasingly popular. The means of propulsion of PWC, which is a jet of water forced out of small nozzle at the rear of the craft, combined with a high risk of falling off of the seat and into close proximity with the water jet stream, raise the potential for a unique type of injury mechanism. The most serious injuries associated with PWC falls are those that occur when the perineum passes in close proximity to the jet nozzle and the high-pressure water stream enters the vaginal or rectal orifice. We describe the forensic investigation into a case of an anovaginal ‘blowout’ injury in a passenger who was ejected from the rear seat position of a PWC and subsequently suffered life-threatening injuries to the pelvic organs. The investigation included a biomechanical analysis of the injury mechanism, a summary of prior published reports of internal pelvic injuries resulting from PWC falls as well as other water sports and activities, and a comparison of the severity of the injuries resulting from differing mechanisms using the New Injury Severity Score (NISS). The mean (±standard deviation [SD]) NISS values for reported PWC injuries [not including the NISS of 38 in this case study] were 11.2 (±9.5), while the mean value for reported water-skiing falls was half that of the PWC group at 5.6 (±5.2). It was concluded that the analyzed injuries were unique to a PWC ejection versus other previously described non-PWC-associated water sport injuries. It is recommended that PWC manufacturers help consumers understand the potential risks to passengers with highly visible warnings and reduce injury risk with revised seat design, and/or passenger seat ‘deadman’ switches.”

While revising the seat design is certainly among the viable options PWC manufacturers have at their disposal for eliminating internal orifice injuries, it would seem as though the same cannot be said of passenger seat deadman switches. Indeed, in order for a passenger seat deadman switch to be a viable option, there would have to be some mechanism in place that allowed the driver to retain control over the direction of the watercraft despite the engine being shut down due to passenger ejection.

Off-Throttle/Off-Power Steering Systems

Once a bold new idea, off-throttle steering systems have become commonplace in today’s personal watercraft. Originally conceived as a solution to the loss of steering control when thrust stops flowing through the pump — such as when a panicked rider releases the throttle and attempts to make an abrupt turn to avoid an object in their path — OTS systems began to appear across all major PWC manufacturer’s lines around 2003.

The motivation behind their appearance can be traced to calls from the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board for a solution to a PWC’s lack of directional control once thrust was removed (as well as the extensive nationwide litigation that resulted therefrom). Those calls were spurred by a 1998 NTSB study that found most PWC fatalities were not the result of drowning, but instead blunt force trauma — the type of accident that results from a collision with another boater or fixed object. As PWC essentially lost most directional control once a driver released the throttle, manufacturers agreed to work on a solution that would return some minimal level of control to the driver and help avoid a collision.

The inclusion of OTS into most craft is relatively seamless. The system works by detecting two coinciding occurrences, the abrupt release of the throttle and a full turn to port or starboard. Electronic sensors note the two situations, and respond by increasing RPM just enough to once again push some water through the jet nozzle. That small blast of propulsion is just enough to start the craft turning in the direction the driver has turned the handlebars, hopefully allowing the craft to begin an evasive maneuver and avoid the object in the craft’s path. Kawasaki, Sea-Doo and Yamaha all continue to use off-throttle steering (OTS) systems.

Unlike off-throttle steering systems (whereby the throttle is un-engaged but the engine is still on), off-power steering is — well, just what it sounds like — steering without power. Off-Power Assisted Steering (O.P.A.S.), as that term was coined by Bombardier, involves the use of mechanical rudders, located at the aft portion of the hull, which were tucked out of the way during normal operation, but dropped down into the water when throttle was released. Water pressure siphoned off the pump kept them in the retracted position underway; when that pressure was removed, the rudders dropped into the water. A linkage to the steering nozzle allowed them to pivot in conjunction with the handlebars, providing directional control much like a sterndrive or outboard engine’s skeg. The primary advantage touted by Bombardier was obvious — the system would work even should the engine stall or the driver accidentally pull the lanyard. The craft did not have to be under power for the system to respond. To my knowledge, Sea-Doo is the only PWC that has ever been offered with off-power assisted steering.

Bottom Line

While all personal watercraft come standard with a deadman switch for the driver (in the form of a safety lanyard), to date, not a single make or model of PWC has been manufactured to include a deadman switch for passengers. Frankly, I’m not convinced a passenger kill switch is even a workable option. At least based on the current state of technology…

Mazzola Law Firm recently filed a products liability lawsuit against Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) on behalf of yet another woman that suffered a rectal blowout (and subsequent colostomy) after falling off the back of a personal watercraft — in this case a 2006 Sea Doo RXP. How many more women will have to suffer these horrific, life-altering injuries before the folks at Bombardier think, “hey we may have a problem”?

Bunch v. Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP)
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/wisconsin/wiedce/2:2016cv00784/73895