ATV and Off Road Vehicle Accidents in Pennsylvania

Rider age and supervision

Pennsylvania restricts ATV operation by younger riders, including certification and supervision requirements that vary with age and location of use. Where an adult permitted a child to operate a machine contrary to those rules, that is directly relevant to liability.

Many serious ATV injuries involve children on adult sized machines, which is both a legal issue and a design one, since machine size relative to rider is a recognized safety factor.

Recreational use immunity

Pennsylvania provides landowners with a degree of immunity where land is made available for recreational use without charge. It exists to encourage public access and it does apply.

It is not unlimited. It generally does not protect against willful or malicious failure to warn of a known dangerous condition, and it may not apply where a fee was charged. Whether it applies to your situation is a genuine question rather than an automatic bar.

Design and passengers

Single rider ATVs are designed for one person, and carrying a passenger alters the handling and the center of gravity in ways the machine was not designed for. Manufacturers warn against it, and it features in a great many rollover injuries.

Design claims arise around rollover propensity, stability, the presence and adequacy of restraints and rollover protection on side by side vehicles, and warnings.

Helmets and gear

Head injury is the leading cause of ATV fatality. Where helmet use is required and absent, expect the argument, and note it goes to damages rather than to fault, and not at all to injuries below the neck.

What to preserve

The machine itself, unrepaired. Photographs of the terrain including the slope, surface and any obstruction. The helmet and gear. Any owner’s manual and warning labels present on the machine, since faded or removed warnings are themselves relevant.