A Collinsville, Alabama man is dead after a four-wheeler accident Monday morning.

The man, whose name was not released Monday, allegedly lost control of the four-wheeler on Ellis Street in Collinsville around 9:30 a.m.  “It flipped, left the highway, and landed in a ditch,” said DeKalb Ambulance Service Director Mark Ford. “The man was thrown from the vehicle and suffered blunt-force trauma.”

Unfortunately, this tragic situation happens far too often.  According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission there were 467 related ATV deaths reported in 2005. Many four-wheeler and ATV driver’s don’t have the proper training and don’t wear appropriate protective gear such as helments that can prevent and minimize many ATV accidents and injuries.  Often four-wheeler and ATV accidents are the result of some defect in the manufacturer’s product design.  Over the years, thousands of product liability lawsuits have been brought against some the world’s largest four-wheeler and ATV manufacturers in an effort to correct such design defects.  If such a design defect exists in the four-wheeler involved in this accident, a wrongful death and products liablity lawsuit could be brought under Alabama law.