$41.5 Million Verdict for Teen Who Suffered Burns Over 90% of His Body in Motocross Gear Defect Case
Won by Eglet Adams.
A Clark County jury awarded $41.5 million to a young man who sustained third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body after the motocross clothing he wore failed to protect him from a fuel fire, finding LeMans Corporation liable for selling gear that was not fire-retardant.
What happened
On May 4, 2001, a 13-year-old boy was riding a Yamaha dirt bike in the Pahrump area outside Las Vegas, celebrating his grandfather's 80th birthday with family. After making a jump, he fell. The bike's gas tank ruptured on impact, soaking him with fuel. The running engine ignited the fuel, and the clothing he was wearing, motocross gear manufactured and sold by LeMans Corporation of Wisconsin, offered no fire protection. Third-degree burns covered 90 percent of his body.
The injuries were catastrophic. The teenager spent seven months on a ventilator, underwent more than 35 surgeries, and suffered a foot amputation. Complications included pneumonia and damage to his heart and kidneys. By the time the case reached a jury six years later, the plaintiff was 19 years old.
Robert Eglet of Mainor Eglet Cottle took the case on a product-liability theory centered on design defect. The argument was straightforward: clothing marketed specifically for motocross, an activity that places a rider on top of a gas tank and a hot engine, should be fire-retardant. Eglet pointed out that LeMans already sold fire-retardant children's pajamas styled to look like motocross outfits. The company had the technology and the knowledge of the hazard, but it had not applied either to its actual riding gear.
The defense, led by Texas attorney Wayne Mason, countered that LeMans never advertised the gear as fire-retardant and that buyers had no basis to assume it was. The jury disagreed.
On May 10, 2007, the Clark County jury returned a verdict of $41.5 million. The award broke down as follows: $4,266,600 for past medical expenses, $7,115,370 for future medical expenses, $2,029,482 for future lost earning capacity, $17,000,000 for past pain and suffering, and $11,000,000 for future pain and suffering. LeMans announced it would appeal.
LeMans carried the case to the Nevada Supreme Court, which heard oral argument in November 2010 under docket No. 51026. The appeal focused on whether the trial court should have dismissed the claims against LeMans, whether it should have granted a new trial, and how prejudgment interest was calculated. The company did not unwind the jury's finding that its motocross gear was defective for failing to protect against fire.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.