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BKS defends ATV manufacturer in Laurel, Indiana trial

Recently, BKS was involved in a lengthy trial defending an ATV manufacturer in Federal court in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Federal judge allowed us to take the jury and the court's staff on an on-site inspection to view the scene of the mishap, which occurred at Haspin Acres in Laurel, Indiana. Haspin Acres is a 750-acre dedicated ATV park. The off-road terrain is treacherous, and BKS had to secure the services of a company that provided Argo vehicles for the jurors and court staff to approach the area. The Argo vehicles are 8-wheeled amphibious vehicles that can travel up and down very steep terrain. These photos show the actual area of the incident and some of the equipment. Our litigation group performed a trial run well in advance of trial so that we could insure the safety of the jurors and the judge with this equipment.

We believe that the on-site experience strongly reinforced the jurors' attitudes about the dangers inherent in such terrain, and they rendered a defense verdict. If a picture is worth a thousand words, certainly an on-site tour is worth much more in litigation.