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APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS $3.6 MILLION AWARD IN WATERCRAFT CASE 05/19/06 11:25 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A state appeals court in San Francisco has upheld a $3.6 million jury award granted to a Fairfield woman for injuries she suffered in a personal watercraft accident on Lake Berryessa in 2001. A Napa County Superior Court jury awarded the compensation to Susan Ford from watercraft maker Polaris Industries Inc. in 2004. Ford was injured when she fell off the watercraft she was riding with her sister-in-law, Laura Nakamura, during a family picnic at Lake Berryessa on Sept. 9, 2001. Ford fell off the back of the watercraft and into the path of the high-pressure stream of water coming out of it. The stream of water tore apart her internal organs and permanently damaged her intestinal tract. Ford claimed in her lawsuit that the company designed the watercraft defectively because it did not provide a way for a passenger to hang on securely when it was not feasible to hold on to the watercraft operator. Polaris maintained that it provided adequate warnings in the manufacturer's manual and decals cautioning riders to wear protective clothing to guard against such injuries. The company also contended it was protected by a doctrine known as assumption of risk, under which people who engage in risky sports can't sue over injuries stemming from inherent risks in the sport. A state Court of Appeal panel, in upholding the verdict, said that Ford's claim of a design defect was not barred by the assumption of risk doctrine because the alleged problem could have been alleviated without fundamentally altering the sport. A three-judge panel said, "As a matter of law, the (alleged) defect escalated the risk of harm beyond the inherent risk of falling into the water.' The decision was issued on Thursday.
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