Articles Posted in Motorcycle Accidents

Jeffrey Newton, 52, was driving his motorcycle through an uncontrolled intersection. While in the intersection, Steven Giambruno was driving a semi-truck as part of his employment with Freight Logistics Inc. Giambruno allegedly turned left in front of Newton.

The motorcycle and the truck crashed and Newton was ejected from his motorcycle and landed on the pavement.

He sustained a fractured left hand, fractured ribs and a pneumothorax, which is a collapsed lung.

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Mr. Doe was riding his moped in Raleigh, N.C., when he was struck from behind by a driver of Roe Co. truck.  A bystander who witnessed the crash chased the driver of the truck and wrote down the truck’s license number, which was traced back to the Roe Co.

Mr. Doe suffered rib fractures and a collapsed lung, which required a 79-day hospitalization. During that time, Mr. Doe suffered a stroke, which led to his further decline.

Mr. Doe claimed that Roe Co. was liable for the truck driver’s conduct. The Doe attorney was able to ascertain the identity of the driver using Google Earth, which showed the truck parked outside of the driver’s home.

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Anthony Ellis, 21, was on a highway driving his motorcycle when he entered an intersection.  Emily Trevino was driving in the opposite direction and waiting to make a turn. She turned left in front of Ellis.

Ellis’s motorcycle and Trevino’s car collided and Ellis was thrown into a ditch. He suffered multiple fractures, including to his finger, toes, arm and left knee. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery followed by a course of physical therapy.

Ellis had planned to join the military but is now unable to do so because of his injuries. His medical expenses approached $208,000 with his past lost income of $9,300. Ellis sued Trevino, alleging that she made an improper turn.

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A Mississippi jury has signed a verdict for $1,250,000 in favor of a highway patrolman whose left leg was partially amputated in a motorcycle accident that was alleged to have been caused by two construction companies that left a low ramp across a road.

Highway Patrolman Marvin Henderson filed a lawsuit after he hit the ramp obstruction at night while returning from a gym. He was thrown from his motorcycle and his left foot and lower leg were crushed. Unfortunately, his leg was amputated below the knee eleven months after this occurrence. He now uses a prosthetic leg.

The ramp in question covered a conduit that the construction companies were using to move water and sewage across the road. The drainage system was blocked by barricades during the day but not at night when this incident took place. Henderson is now a highway patrol investigator.

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A motorcyclist was riding behind a car driven by the defendant who was a car dealership employee. The defendant driver suddenly made a U-turn, causing the motorcyclist to catapult over the car’s hood.

The plaintiff motorcyclist suffered multiple fractures, including a wrist fracture that required surgery.

The medical expenses for the motorcyclist were $55,000. He was an automotive technician but is now unable to return to his job. He had been earning about $60,000 per year.

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Juan Altamirano was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle on the highway when John Harrison, who was driving a rental car in the high-occupancy vehicle lane, crossed two yellow lines to the right of the lanes and then crossed the two yellow lines dividing the lanes. Altamirano’s motorcycle struck the car’s right fender and crashed.

Altamirano, who was 50 at the time, suffered multiple injuries. His injuries included a fractured right hip, spinal fractures at L1-2 and L5 and multiple complex fractures to his left foot.

Altamirano underwent a partial hip replacement, left-leg fasciotomies to relieve pressure caused by the foot fractures, wound debridements and external fixation of the foot fractures. He was later transferred to a different hospital where he underwent skin-graft procedures on his left foot.

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On May 16, 2012, Jeremiah Guthrie was attempting to walk eastbound across Central Avenue just south of the intersection of Harrison Street in Chicago. He made it across one lane (the southbound right lane) when he was hit in the second lane (the southbound left lane) by the motorcyclist and defendant Jaroslaw Baranek, who was southbound.

Guthrie, 53, suffered fractures to his left ankle, tibia, fibula and wrist as well as a puncture wound to his left calf. His medical bills were $140,488. There was no claim for lost time from work.

The defendant stipulated to plaintiff’s injuries and medical expenses, but denied the defendant, a 32-year-old electrician, was at fault and contended that the plaintiff was more than 50% at fault for his own injuries because he crossed the street at mid-block.

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Daniel Orr died in a motorcycle accident in August 2012. His beneficiaries, who were his daughters, Hailey and Daniell, filed claims seeking benefits payable under a group life insurance policy governed by ERISA. The insurance policy was issued by Union Security Insurance Co. to Orr’s former employer.

The policy provided accidental death and dismemberment benefits to a participant and his or her beneficiaries, subject to certain exclusions, including exclusion on a loss resulting directly or indirectly from intoxication.

In December 2012, Union Security notified the Orr daughters that it had denied their claims on the ground that Orr’s death resulted from his intoxication. The notification explained that autopsy and toxicology reports showed that Orr’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was above the legal limit.

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Cynthia DeCornmier suffered serious injuries when she fell from her motorcycle on a motorcycle training course. Before the beginning of the training course, DeCornmier signed a release of all claims that may have resulted from or arising out of her participation in the training course. The release document stated in bold letters that it covered all claims she may have, including without limitation, all claims resulting from the negligence of those involved in the course.

In spite of the release that was signed in advance of the motorcycle training course, she filed a lawsuit against Harley-Davidson and Gateway Harvey-Davidson alleging that they were negligent and reckless by directing her to perform motorcycle maneuvers on a range that was icy and slippery. In the lawsuit, DeCornmier maintained that the liability release document that she signed in advance was unenforceable against claims of gross negligence or recklessness.

The defendants Harley Davidson and Gateway Harley-Davidson, filed motions for summary judgment, which the trial judge granted dismissing DeCornmier’s case.

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On Aug. 28, 2010, Peter Chilton was driving a 2009 Harley Davidson Road King motorcycle with his girlfriend riding on the back. Chilton was stopped at the red light on Grand Avenue at the intersection with County Road in Waukegan, Ill., when the defendant, Joshua Uhlir, who was driving his vehicle westbound, hit Chilton and his girlfriend from behind causing minor damage to the motorcycle.

Chilton, 55, maintained that the force of the impact caused his motorcycle to move forward and fall to the right side. In his effort to prevent the bike from falling over he felt a pop in his right shoulder. He did not immediately go to the emergency room or see a doctor and did not receive medical attention until he went to his primary physician three days later complaining of right shoulder pain.

Chilton sustained a tear in the shoulder, but he did not need surgery. He also suffered aggravation of pre-existing degenerative changes in his cervical spine.

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