Mastercraft product liability suit

[Surfdad]

I'm not sure if any of you folks saw this, since it's mainly a Sacramento, Ca news story.

http://www.kcra.com/news/28164425/detail.html

Pliantiff argued that the design of the picklefork bow (ala RZ series) was never tested for safety and allows the boat to take on water. From what I have heard...like third hand...two women in the bow were either swept overboard and into the prop or jumped when they thought it was sinking and were struck by the prop. One has brain damage.

I'm wondering how this will impact tose of us with picklefork bows, with local law enforcement.

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

Who says she didnt have brain damage before.. hell she went over the bow and under the boat?

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

Ok that was harsh... but seriously. You get swept out of a boat and you go backwards from the bow.. not over the front and under. They were doing something they werent supposed to and fell over the bow.

Who says she didnt have brain damage before.. hell she went over the bow and under the boat?

[4bw]

http://www.paradisepost.com/news/ci_18185450

On July 9, 2006, Montz was driving a 24-foot X-45 MasterCraft wakeboarding boat on Lake Oroville with 18 other people aboard. When the boat made a turn after the wakeboarder fell, Niki Bell and Bethany Mercer, formerly Wallenburg, were washed overboard from the bow and hit by the boat's propeller.

Mercer suffered injuries to her arm, leg and back. Bell had multiple skull fractures, damage to the frontal lobe of her brain and she lost her left eye.

"If Jerry Montz knew then what he knows now, this accident would not have happened," Duncan said.

In 2006, Montz was sentenced to three years probation after he pleaded no contest to reckless or negligent operation of a vessel. Bell's father and Mercer filed the suit against MasterCraft and Montz seeking damages. While Mercer had about $60,000 in medical bills, Bell's exceed $2 million.

[lohe]

Sounds like an overloaded boat driving poorly most likely a power turn as well. I know it's rated for 18 but I could not picture that many people (adults) stuck on that boat or a RZ4. This sounds more like driver error I don't see how you could lose some one over the bow and then get the prop over them. Pickle fork or not how would an open bow be any different?

[chpthril]

http://www.paradisepost.com/news/ci_18185450



"If Jerry Montz knew then what he knows now, this accident would not have happened," Duncan said.

.

Like dont overload the boat and dont make power turns?

Sad story as I truly do feel for those injured, but good thing we have lots of lawmakers to protect us from our selves and an abundance of lawyers to sue on our behalf when stupid does happen. The only one I see at fault is the driver/owner and the boats liability.

[lohe]

Also they would have had 19 people because of the rider so they are over the boats rated limit

[Surfdad]

Yikes! I heard about this on the TV this morning and they got a blurb from the Plaintiff's attorney. His statement was something to the effect that the boat itself was inherently dangerous because of the design of the picklefork what he was calling a "hole in the boat" and was still being sold and then something about this happens because the boating industry is basically unregulated.

[da.bell]

Okay, lets start a class action lawsuit against Tige. j/k

Sounds like a bunch of people that didn't know what they were doing and Mastercraft didn't seem to argue the case much.

[Timmy!]

19 people!?!? Hopefully they go through a long appeals process, that's ridiculous!

[h2osk8er00]

Unbelieveable.. I keep hearing careless stories like this.. and it makes me scratch my head.. I have been to Iraq, Afghanistan, basically everywhere in the Middle East.. and I think I'm safer there than on the water with the way people act on the water. My boat says it can hold 12 but I would never go above 10. My heart goes out to the girls and their parents. I just wish people could be more careful so that $hit like this could be avoided.. How tragic...

[NICKYPOO]

Sad story. IMO, owner/operator fault. The guy has already been wrung up on recklessness. He should now be strung up.

[4bw]

This is terrible and I am very sorry for the injured and am glad for them they are being compensated. However, 18 people in boat, downed rider
was there a power turn? was the bow was submarined on the wake during the turn, where were the people sitting that fell? Cheeks on seats or up high on the bow and gunwales? I am sure we will never know but I doubt there is any difference in in the bow submerging on a pickle fork vs a traditional bow when presented with the same situation. It is tough for me see the manufacturers fault in this versus operator error. Thoughts?

[Timmy!]

Oh yeah, so they find the driver at fault and then say that not only is the driver at fault but so is the boat mfr? That's confusing, how can they both be at fault? If the driver hadn't been driving reckless, would they have fallen out of the boat? I would say NO!

[Surfdad]

Personally I think that plaintiff's attorney's are the scum of the earth. From the buzzwords mentioned in the articles I'll bet the Plaintiff's attorney's argued a design defect - the gap in the bow allows water to be taken in, and Mastercraft couldn't produce any documents showing they tested that. Also that the extra bow width of the picklefork allows - no "encourages" overweighting of the bow. Then they went on to say there is a failure to adequately warn - don't put 2,000 pounds of weight in the bow and turn at 25 mph.

Ridiculous, but what'll bet that here in California we get stickers for our boats that say "Don't put 2,000 pounds up here"