In a case to send shivers down the spines of any unsuspecting rider out there, Suzuki Motorcycles have just lost a major court case in the USA whereby the plaintiff successful proved that the company had supplied a motorcycle with defective front brakes and failed to act accordingly to rectify the issue.
It was suggested and proven to be the case that Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) had concealed a front brake defect, leading to sudden unexpected reduction in performance, which led to a crash crash. The jury hearing the case found in the favour of the plaintiff which was represented on behalf of legal team; The Trial Lab & The Simon Law Group of Southern California.
When the plaintiff first took Suzuki to court, it was revealed that Suzuki were aware of a “front brake defect that caused the formation of corrosion gel and the production of hydrogen gas. The design of the front brake master cylinder prevented hydrogen gas from purging from the system, which results in decreased braking performance, and in some instances, sudden unexpected failure while the bike is in operation”
Although this was highlighted as a serious concern for safety, it was only a year later that Suzuki issued a recall for the item and issued a band aid fix with a design change to allow the hydrogen gas to escape.
T. Gabe Houston, lead trial counsel from The Trial Lab said, “To this day, Suzuki has not addressed the underlying condition that causes corrosion to develop in these components. Ten years after announcing the recall, Suzuki refuses to accept that a defective front brake continues to present a dangerous safety issue for GSX-R riders and unknowing bystanders sharing the streets with these motorcycles”
Suzuki has been ordered to pay $11million dollars in ‘compensatory damages’ and a whopping $150million in punitive damages for providing a defect component which led to the crash and one can only assume the jury took a dim view of the whole affair and the reaction or lack of reaction from Suzuki themselves.