Jose A. Rodriguez, 21, of East Wenatchee, suffered critical personal injuries in a Seattle ATV accident on April 27, 2009, the Wenatchee World reports. Rodriguez was knocked unconscious after falling off a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle in East Wenatchee. He was apparently driving in the 400 block of North Perry Avenue on his way to change irrigation pipes when he fell off the vehicle and hit his head on the pavement.

I'm relieved that this ATV accident did not turn out to be fatal. I'm glad to see that Jose Rodriguez is recovering and his condition has been upgraded from "critical" to "serious." I wish him the very best for a quick and complete recovery.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) ATV accident statistics, there were 750 fatalities and 146,600 injuries relating to ATV crashes in the United States in 2006. Those numbers were only 517 and 110,000 in 2001. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of ATV accident deaths and injuries in just five years and that may be largely attributed to the increasing popularity of all-terrain and off-road vehicles, especially in California where we have year-round good weather.

In recent months, we have also seen a number of defective ATVs and utility terrain vehicles or UTVs in the news. Yamaha Rhino stopped production of a number of vehicles to make some design changes. Lawsuits have been filed nationwide against Yamaha in connection with Yamaha Rhino ATV rollover accidents. These crashes have caused severe injuries as well as fatalities.

Jose Rodriguez would be well advised to consult with an experienced Seattle personal injury attorney, who can have the ATV examined by an expert for manufacturing or design defects. If this accident was caused by a product defect, then Rodriguez may be able to file a claim against the manufacturer of the defective ATV. Such compensation usually covers medical expenses, cost of treatments, pain and suffering and loss of earnings.

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