Sand’s family sought $10 million in compensatory damages from Yamaha and others in the wrongful death lawsuit. The family wanted another $10 million in punitive damages from Yamaha for what they alleged was a defective product.
Sand was with her family at a church picnic in Oregonia, where rides on the Rhino were part of the festivities. An accident caused the machine to tip over and dump Sand and three other children who were in the back of the machine. Sand died from head injuries she suffered in the rollover.
Yamaha attorney Paul Cereghini repeatedly told the jury that people at the picnic that day, including Sand, bore the brunt of the blame.
“We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict,” Cereghini said. “We feel Yamaha has been vindicated. We had the utmost confidence that Yamaha would prevail in this case and that’s what’s happened.”
Sand’s parents, John and Tammie Sand, filed the suit against Yamaha, Clinton County Motor Sports and Let It Gro LLC, the company owned by the couple who hosted the picnic.
John Sand said he hopes that the “defective” finding might push the Consumer Product Safety Commission to take further action.
“In my mind we won. No amount of money is going to bring Ellie back. My life tomorrow will be the exact same as it was last month,” he said. “Ellie was the 28th to die on the machine and almost an additional 70 have died since Ellie. I hate to see all these other kids and people get hurt and killed. ... Nothing the jury could have done can bring Ellie back; I’m still going to mourn.”
Attorney Mike Roberts maintained Yamaha made a defective product that was prone to tipping over. He presented the jury evidence that he claimed showed marketing, rather than design diligence drove the production of the Rhino.
Yamaha contended Sands would not have died that night had she been wearing a helmet and seat belt. They placed most of the blame on Nils McElroy, who was behind the wheel, because his stunt driving was “breathtakingly reckless.”
The civil trial lasted more than three weeks, with 41 witnesses testifying.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
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