Facts

On July 4, 2008, plaintiff Fabiola Esparza, 15, was riding as a passenger on a Polaris Vi rage jet ski or personal watercraft (PWC) operated by Andrew Gutierrez, 17, when it collided with a 2004 Sea-Doo Utopia jet boat being operated by Douglas Lane, who was towing his three grandchildren on an inflatable raft. Lane had a blood alcohol content of 0.224 percent (three times over the legal limit) and plead guilty to three felonies for causing the accident.

Plaintiff sued Douglas Lane and also sued the manufacturer of the jet ski alleging design defect, causing a dangerous condition.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that Lane was negligent for operating his boat while having a blood alcohol over three times the legal limit and turning in front of the PWC. Plaintiff further claimed that the Polaris PWC was defectively designed in that it did not have off-throttle steering (OTS), i.e., because it was jet powered, it would lose its ability to steer when an inexperienced operator would let off of the throttle in an emergency. Plaintiff contended that the PWC should have had retractable rudders, a brake (reverse bucket) or a throttle reapplication device.

According to plaintiff, Lane contended that Gutierrez and Polaris, not he, caused the accident.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Polaris contended that the Virage was a safe, well-designed watercraft with excellent maneuverability. Polaris further contended that it was not feasible to safely implement the off throttle steering designs advocated by plaintiff into the Virage at the time it was manufactured, that the United States Coast Guard had found that the lack of an off throttle steering device on a personal watercraft does not constitute a defect; and that given the speeds of the two crafts at the time the boat turned into the path of the personal watercraft, the crash was unavoidable.

Polaris argued that the crash was solely the fault of the intoxicated boat operator who deliberately turned into the path of the personal watercraft and the personal watercraft operator who was operating at a very high speed in close proximity to the boat in an attempt to jump its wake. Polaris ceased making jet skis in 2004.

Injuries

Esparza suffered injuries to her patella, elbow, rib, sacral and hip fractures and traumatic brain (frontal lobe) injury, requiring round-the-clock care.

Result

A jury awarded Esparza $21.7 million. The award included $14 million for her past and future pain and suffering and $5.48 million for future medical care. The jury allocated 56 percent fault to Lane (the boat operator), 20 percent to Gutierrez (the PWC operator) and 24 percent to Polaris Industries Inc.

Deliberation

six days