Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
With the winter weather behind us and warmer days ahead, people will not likely be doing all that much snowmobile riding in the near future. While it is actually becoming more popular for people to put wheels on the ski blades and race on grass fields, this is still not a common activity for most riders.
Even though the riding season may be over, there were many people who were injured over the past winter while using a snowmobile or riding on one as a passenger, and some of these victims may have a valid personal injury claim. This may include a case against a negligent operator, a negligent snowmobile rental company, or even the manufacturer for failure to warn of a known danger. In some cases, the device itself may have been defectively designed or manufactured, and this could lead to a products liability case, which is a special kind of personal injury case.According to a recent news article form Bangor Daily News, a Massachusetts man was seriously injured on a snowmobile and managed to ride the damaged machine so that he could get much-needed medical attention.
Authorities have said the 52-year-old man was riding with a group of other riders and somehow became separated from the other riders. While he was separated from the group of snowmobile riders, he lost control and crashed. He was seriously injured in this crash but was stranded alone in the woods. He realized he had no choice but get back on the heavily damaged machine and try to ride it to get help for himself.
His friends had already called 911 when they did not know his location, and fish and wildlife wardens who are responsible for patrolling the area were already out searching for him. When they found him, they realized how severe was injuries were. They called for an ambulance that took him to a local medical center, but based upon the severity of his injuries, they needed to transfer him to a level-one trauma center. At that point, they called for a medevac helicopter, and he was airlifted to Bangor for additional treatment, including emergency surgery. The exact condition of the victim and the extent of his injuries were not released.
As our Boston personal injury lawyers have seen over years, many people are injured on snowmobiles that they do not personally own. In some cases, a passenger is injured. This can happen when driver is operating the snowmobile (or motorcycle for that matter) in a negligent manner, and this causes the vehicle to crash or the passenger to be thrown free at high speeds.
In some cases, the driver will rent the snowmobile from a rental company. This is actually the most common type of snowmobile rider, because the vast majority of people who live in Boston do not personally own a snowmobile. When you rent a snowmobile, or other personal craft such as wave runner, the rental company has a responsibility to ask you about your level of experience as a rider and provide you with all necessary warnings and instructions on safe operation. While it may be an inherently dangerous activity, the company must do what they can to make it as safe as possible, because they are in the best position to do so.
If you have suffered personal injury in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Injured Massachusetts man rides damaged snowmobile to help after crash, April 2, 2017, By Jessica Potila, BDN Maine
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Pontoon Boat Operator Charged With Criminal Negligence in Boy’s Death, Feb. 16, 2017, Boston Sport Injury Lawyer Blog