Tragic Snowmobile Defect Case Heads Back to Trial

Six years ago, two women died when their Arctic Cat snowmobile reversed off a 40 foot cliff on Mackinac Island. Now those women's families will finally get their day in court. A Michigan Court of Appeals has sent the snowmobile defect case back to trial.

Defective products can run the risk of anything from simply not working to causing fatal accidents. But when the product in question is a snowmobile, the risk of injury, and even death, is much higher.

Karen Schwarck and Edith Bonno were riding together on an Arctic Cat 660 snowmobile near Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel in February 2010. As the pair made a three-point turn to head back toward the resort, their snowmobile unexpectedly shot backward through a wooden fence and over the West Bluff of the island, falling nearly 40 feet. Both women died in the crash.

Their families sued Arctic Cat, saying that a defect in the reverse warning alarm led Schwarck to believe the snowmobile was in forward gear, instead of reverse. The manufacturer denied a “silent reverse zone” and claimed there was no question of fact that would tie the women's deaths to a manufacturing defect. The company called the plaintiffs' theory “hypothetical.” The trial court agreed and dismissed the case.

But a Michigan Court of Appeals panel thought differently. While it agreed that the 40 foot fall rendered the snowmobile's gear shifter after the accident unreliable, it found other fact questions exist.

Experts on both sides had testified about the snowmobile tracks. Some found a smooth reverse track. Others testified that a stop in the middle of a reverse track wouldn't show up in the snow. And one witness said he saw evidence of two stops in the tracks – evidence the driver was trying to make a 3 point turn.

The court also found that while the reverse alarm was “operational,” that wasn't the end of the issue. An expert for the plaintiff showed that the alarm only sounded when the gear shifter was in the last inch of its 4-inch movement range. But the snowmobile would only go forward if the shift lever was in the first inch. That left 2 inches in the middle where the alarm would not sound, but the snowmobile would still travel backward.

The court sent the whole case back to trial so that a jury could weigh all the evidence and decide whether the snowmobile's silent zone caused the women's deaths. It decided human psychological factors might allow a rider to foreseeably rely on an alarm designed for bystanders and be unable to react to a sudden, unexpected reverse motion. All of these were decisions best left to a jury. That means 6 years later, the Schwarck and Bonno families will finally have a chance to prove a product defect caused their loved ones' deaths.

Dani K. Liblang is a personal injury attorney at The Liblang Law Firm, P.C., in Birmingham, Michigan. She represents people injured by defective products. If someone you love has been hurt, contact The Liblang Law Firm, P.C., today for a free consultation.