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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Fatal skateboard crash leads to suit

By Loren Moreno
Advertiser Staff Writer

Former Waialua resident Jennifer Patterson is suing a California-based motorized skateboard manufacturer and its Hawai'i distributor after her husband suffered injuries and later died after an accident involving the device.

Patterson filed the suit in Circuit Court on Wednesday, alleging that her husband, Clinton Patterson, suffered "catastrophic" injuries when the electric skateboard apparently malfunctioned and tossed him off the board. He died five day later, on July 27, 2008, allegedly from the injuries.

Jennifer Patterson has since moved to Minnesota, said attorney Ward Jones. The case is being handled by him and by attorneys in Chicago, he said.

The electric skateboards are manufactured and sold by Chase Boards LLC in Orange County, Calif.

The lawsuit also named Bionic Wheels LLC, a Honolulu-based distributor of the product, as a defendant.

The boards look like traditional skateboards but have a motor and battery, and are operated with a hand-held remote control unit. The boards' wheels are larger than those on traditional skateboards.

Robert Stehlik, president of Bionic Wheels, said Clinton Patterson was a well-known customer and was an experienced user of the motorized skateboard. But Stehlik claimed the board had been altered by Patterson. There are also questions about whether he was wearing a helmet, Stehlik said.

"It's a tragic accident. But if you're riding any skateboard without a helmet, you're taking a chance," Stehlik said.

The lawsuit alleges that the wheels of the board came in contact with Patterson's feet or the board, causing an abrupt change in speed and direction, effectively throwing him off the skateboard. The suit claims that the board was poorly designed and built.

Speaking from California, Taylor Landry, operations manager of Chase Boards LLC, said he could not comment on the specifics of the Patterson case.

He said the company stresses the use of safety gear whenever someone uses its product. Numerous warnings are printed on the board. The remote control and a pamphlet included with the board both warn customers to use precautions.

"Our stance has always been helmet and safety gear all the time," he said.

It was unclear from the lawsuit whether Clinton Patterson had been wearing safety gear. The suit did say that he was operating the board in an "intended, expected, reasonable and foreseeable fashion."

The company's skateboards have an average maximum speed of 20 mph. They can travel as slowly as 1 mph, depending on how much pressure is used on the trigger of the remote control.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.