John Gehlhausen represents the victims of zero-turn radius, riding lawn mower, and garden tractor rollover accidents; if you or a loved one has been injured, contact Mr. Gehlhausen today to schedule a free case evaluation.
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What compensation can I receive for my riding lawn mower accident?
The Law Offices of John Gehlhausen, P.C. will fight to help victims recover lost support, funeral expenses, medical-related expenses, and lost wages, as well as compensation for pain and suffering, lost companionship and other hardships...
What are the major causes of riding lawn mower accidents?
When used on ditch banks or inclines, riding lawn mowers can roll over and pin or crush the rider beneath their weight...
Attorney John Gehlhausen has been representing individuals injured in riding mower and tractor rollover accidents for several decades. Mr. Gehlhausen has witnessed the manufacturers of these machines always blame "operator error" when confronted with a rollover accident with serious injury or death. As Mr. Gehlhausen argues in the following article, this strategy is unacceptable. A degree of human error is normal and to be expected. In the event of a rollover accident, the proper safety equipment can prevent serious injury and even death. Manufacturers who choose not to install rollover protective systems on their products are negligent and irresponsible, according to Mr. Gehlhausen. Because of his intimate involvement in numerous serious injury and death claims, victims of zero-turn-radius riding lawn mower or garden tractor rollover accidents will want John Gehlhausen's experience and expertise on their side. Please contact our office to set up a free consultation.
BLAMING THE OPERATOR FOR THE ACCIDENTS
By: John Gehlhausen
Riding Mower Accident Product Liability Attorney
In every case that I have ever worked on involving a riding lawn mower, the manufacturer who chose not to put a safety frame rollover protective system (ROPS) on the riding mower blamed the operator for the accident. It isn’t hard to do. There are usually scores of warnings in the manual about mower hazards—more of them than any person can ever possibly remember. Even if a particular hazard is not warned against in the operator’s manual, the manufacturer argues that anyone with “common sense" would not have done what the operator did. This false argument presumes that there is an ideal person out there who can and always should be operating their riding mower perfectly, and that external environmental conditions always remain the same. There is not a human being alive that has ever operated these riding mowers for a substantial period of time without making some error in operation. The error can be as simple as for a split second giving too much throttle on a hill that has been mowed without incident dozens of times before. Human error is normal. And the manufacturers of lawn tractors know it.
The problem with always blaming the operator is that it ignores the simple fact that safety frame rollover protective systems (ROPS) exist because it has been recognized for over 50 years that people operating all kinds of tractors, including riding lawn mowers, make errors. One of the beauties of the ROPS safety frame systems is that they protect in all rollovers. They don’t care about the cause. They protect whether the rollover is caused by human error or not. Rollovers are also caused by mechanical failure, design characteristics, unexpected environmental changes, or any combination of them.
Since the manufacturers know that these rollovers are going to happen, it is unreasonable for them not to use economically and technologically feasible ROPS to protect those operating their lawn tractors. In addition to so-called “operator error,” a lawn tractor could roll over because of a mechanical failure or a design flaw for which the manufacturer is responsible. It is outrageous for manufacturers not to protect operators from rollovers that they themselves cause. The same holds true for errors caused by operators. ROPS don’t care who or what caused the rollover. They protect regardless.
Why then don’t manufacturers install these potentially life-saving devices? Unfortunately for the consumer it is less expensive for the manufacturer to always blame operators than it is to equip all of their riding mowers with these protective devices. The manufacturers have chosen instead to market their machines at a cheaper price than what a $100-150 standard rollover protective system on all their riding mowers would allow. These same manufacturers have also concluded that it is less expensive to fight injured consumers or their heirs in court in individual David vs. Goliath lawsuits than it is to correct years of deliberate willful neglect by now installing ROPS as standard equipment on all their lawn tractors.
Zero-turn-radius riding lawn mower and garden tractor manufacturers often blame operator error for causing rollover accidents. Attorney John Gehlhausen, an avid riding mower safety advocate, believes manufacturers who do not install the appropriate rollover protective systems should be held responsible for their negligence. Mr. Gehlhausen tirelessly fights for the rights of rollover accident victims and their loved ones. If you have been injured in a riding mower accident, contact Mr. Gehlhausen to arrange a consultation to discuss your claim.