Catastrophic Injuries from Defective ATVs in Illinois

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) offer exciting recreational opportunities across Illinois. However, defective manufacturing or design flaws can turn these machines into dangerous sources of serious injury. When product defects cause life-altering injuries, victims face mounting medical expenses, lost income, and permanent disabilities that fundamentally alter their futures.

If you or a loved one suffered harm from a defective ATV, you need quality legal representation to take on big companies, their insurance companies, and their team of attorneys. Schedule a free consultation with Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., to better understand your case with a defective ATV lawyer in Illinois who will pursue the full compensation you deserve.

The Dangers of Defective ATVs

Defective ATVs pose unreasonable risks to riders who trust their vehicles to meet basic safety standards. Even experienced operators cannot overcome fundamental product flaws that ATV manufacturers should have prevented before these machines reached consumers. The primary dangers of defective ATVs include:

Rollover propensity from unstable design
Throttle mechanism failures
Brake system malfunctions
Steering component defects
Fuel system fire risks
Insufficient safety warnings
Inadequate protective equipment

Federal recalls underscore the persistent problem of dangerous ATVs entering the marketplace. Recently, Ricky Powersports recalled several youth and adult ATVs for violating federal safety regulations. Additionally, Jonas C recalled fuel containers that presented burn and fire hazards.

Injured ATV riders have a right to seek compensation for injuries they sustained while operating defective ATVs. Contact our law firm today for legal help and targeted legal advice.

Common ATV Defects That Cause Catastrophic Injuries

Product liability law identifies three primary types of defects that can make an ATV unreasonably dangerous. At Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., our product liability attorneys are well-versed in these classifications and use them to build strong legal claims against those at fault. By analyzing the specific defect involved in your case, we can identify which parties are responsible for your injuries and build a compelling case for compensation:

Design Defects: These occur when the product’s blueprint is inherently unsafe before production even begins. Engineers may overlook foreseeable hazards, leading to dangerous flaws in every unit built from the same design.
Manufacturing Defects: These occur when the production process deviates from the intended design, resulting in defects across specific units or batches. Inadequate quality control can allow these faulty products to reach consumers, even when the original design was sound.
Marketing Defects: These involve insufficient warnings, instructions, or safety information that fail to inform consumers about known dangers. Manufacturers have a duty to clearly communicate proper usage and potential risks associated with their products.

In defective ATV cases in Illinois, we immediately begin comprehensive investigations to preserve evidence and identify all responsible parties. Our legal team collaborates with mechanical engineers, product safety experts, and industry consultants who examine the vehicle to determine the specific defect and cause of the crash.

We obtain maintenance records, purchase documentation, recall notices, and similar incident reports to establish patterns of dangerous behavior by manufacturers. Our defective ATV lawyer in Illinois invests substantial resources in developing the technical evidence necessary to prove manufacturer liability.

Types of Catastrophic Injuries in ATV Crashes

Defective ATVs produce severe and permanent harm, fundamentally altering victims’ lives. Many ATV accident victims require immediate emergency surgery followed by extended hospital stays in intensive care units. The initial trauma represents only the beginning of a long and difficult recovery process. Common injuries in these incidents include the following:

Traumatic Brain Injuries: Riders thrown from defective ATVs often strike their heads on hard surfaces or roll under the vehicle’s weight. Even helmeted operators suffer severe brain trauma when defects cause violent crashes or rollovers.
Spinal Cord Damage and Paralysis: The impact of ATV rollovers frequently crushes or severs the spinal cord, resulting in permanent paralysis. Defective steering or brake systems leave riders unable to avoid obstacles that cause vertebral column injuries.
Severe Burns from Fuel System Fires: Defective fuel lines, tanks, or containers ignite on impact, engulfing ATV riders in flames. Victims trapped beneath overturned ATVs may suffer extensive third-degree burns requiring multiple skin graft surgeries.
Multiple Broken Bones: The force of ATV crashes shatters bones throughout the body, often requiring surgical insertion of pins, plates, and rods. Rollover incidents caused by design defects often result in compound fractures, with bones piercing through the skin.
Crushing Injuries to Extremities: When defective ATVs roll over, their weight crushes arms, legs, hands, and feet beneath them. These compression injuries destroy muscle tissue, nerves, and blood vessels, sometimes necessitating amputation.
Internal Organ Damage: Blunt force trauma from severe accidents can rupture vital organs, including the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lungs. Defective restraint systems or roll bars can fail to protect riders from impact forces that can cause life-threatening internal bleeding.
Permanent Disfigurement and Scarring: Road rash, lacerations, and burn injuries leave riders with severe facial and bodily scarring. Reconstructive surgeries often cannot fully restore victims’ appearances after defective ATVs cause devastating facial trauma.
Amputation of Limbs: Severe crushing injuries or burns from defective ATVs may leave surgeons no choice but to amputate damaged extremities. Victims may face lifelong challenges adapting to prosthetic devices and significant mobility limitations.

The medical costs associated with catastrophic injuries often exceed millions of dollars over a lifetime. Beyond economic losses, victims endure profound physical pain, emotional suffering, and permanent limitations that affect every aspect of daily living.

Families also experience tremendous emotional and financial strain as they adapt to their loved one’s changed capabilities and extensive care needs. The psychological impact of sudden disability frequently requires ongoing mental health treatment and support services.

Who Is Liable for a Defective ATV Injury in Illinois?

Multiple parties throughout the supply chain may be legally responsible when defective ATVs cause harm. Illinois law allows injured parties to pursue claims against any entity that contributed to placing the dangerous product in the marketplace. Potentially liable parties include the following:

Manufacturers: Companies that design and produce ATVs face strict liability for defects that cause injuries. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-621, manufacturers cannot escape responsibility by demonstrating reasonable care if their products contain defects.
Distributors and Wholesalers: Entities in the distribution chain share liability for placing defective products into the stream of commerce. Even if these parties did not create the defect, they may face legal claims under product liability principles.
Retail Sellers: Dealerships and stores that sell defective ATVs to consumers may be held accountable for resulting injuries from those ATVs. Illinois law extends liability throughout the commercial chain to ensure victims can obtain compensation.
Component Part Manufacturers: Suppliers of defective parts used in ATV assembly face potential liability for injuries caused by their components. The party that created the specific defect bears primary responsibility regardless of final assembly.

Identifying all liable parties maximizes available compensation. Our ATV accident attorney in Chicago can conduct thorough investigations to determine every entity that contributed to your injuries. Component manufacturers often attempt to shift blame to the final assembler, making a thorough investigation essential to establish the true source of the defect.

We trace each component through the supply chain to identify every party that contributed to the dangerous condition. Once we identify potentially liable parties, we must establish that the defect directly caused your injuries through compelling evidence and expert testimony.

Product liability claims require proving that the ATV was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control, that you used it in a reasonably foreseeable way, and that the defect directly caused your injuries. The attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. collect key evidence—such as purchase records, maintenance logs, photos of the defective ATV, medical documentation connecting your injuries to the collision, and witness statements corroborating your account.

Financial Compensation for Catastrophic Injuries

Under Illinois law, 735 ILCS 5/2-1115.1, victims of defective products are entitled to comprehensive remedies that cover their economic and non-economic losses. This statute ensures that injured individuals can seek full and fair compensation for all damages resulting from a defective product.

Courts acknowledge that severe injuries have immediate and lasting impacts, requiring thorough financial recovery. Available forms of compensable damages include:

Past and future medical bills
Ongoing medical treatment
Adaptive equipment and home modifications
Lost wages and benefits
Diminished earning capacity
Physical pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Diminished quality of life
Permanent disability and disfigurement
Loss of consortium for spouses
Wrongful death benefits for families

Catastrophic ATV injuries often justify substantial compensation that reflects the permanent nature of victims’ losses. At Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., we pursue maximum recovery by documenting the full extent of your damages through medical testimony, economic analysis, and compelling evidence of how the defect altered your life.

Life care planners and economists help calculate the true cost of your injuries over your expected lifespan, ensuring that settlement demands or jury verdicts account for decades of ongoing medical needs and lost opportunities. We refuse to accept inadequate settlement offers that fail to address the full magnitude of your losses and future needs.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Chicago ATV Injury Lawyer

Our firm has obtained more than $3 billion in compensation for injured clients, including the largest compensatory verdict awarded to an individual plaintiff in Illinois history. We have secured over 400 verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 million through the dedicated efforts of our diverse team of more than 20 accomplished litigators supported by over 35 professional staff members.

Our resources and determination enable us to aggressively advocate for the rights of deserving clients, and we offer every prospective client a free consultation to evaluate their claim.

Contact Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., or reach out online to schedule a free consultation with an experienced ATV accident attorney in Chicago. We will evaluate your catastrophic ATV injuries case, explain your legal options, and fight relentlessly to hold manufacturers accountable for the harm their defective products caused you and your family.