15-year old McKenzie Shelton was seriously injured when the Polaris ATV (all-terrian vehicle) he was operating struck a tree in the woods.  The crash happened in Camden County Missouri at approximately 1:00 pm on October 12t.  Shelton was wearing a safety device (helmet) at the time of the crash, however he still sustained catastrophic injury.  He was transported to University Hospital ER by helicopter.  The 2000 Polaris ATV Shelton was operating sustained extensive damage.

ATVs are inherently dangerous, especially when operated by young children.  This particular personal injury case reportedly involved a 15 year-old driver.  The problem is that ATV's are extremely powerful and becoming more popular with Missourians.  For example, a 2007 TRX 400EX is capable ot reaching speeds of 60-70 mph.  Couple that with the inexperience of younger drivers WHO DON'T EVEN HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE YET and it results in a recipe for disaster. 

ATV injury claims can implicated various theories of tort law, including: negligence, negligence per se, negligent supervion, negligent entrustment.  Negligent supervision and negligent entrustment are triggered when the registered owner of the ATV "entrusts" it to another person, one who may have little to no experience in the operation of such a machine. In such a case, the entrustor's homeowners' insurance policy may have an interest in the outcome of the claim.

St. Louis ATV Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz and his colleagues are experienced in the handling of ATV injury claims.  Contact us anytime at (314) 448-0934, by email, or complete the online case evaluation form for an immediate response.