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Motorcyclist awarded damages after hitting a car that failed to yield
Accident Type:
Motorcycle AccidentIncident Date:
Thursday, December 14, 2006Result Date:
Wednesday, February 10, 2010Monetary Result:
$1,156,640Court:
San BernardinoOn Nov. 14, 2006, plaintiff Carlos Llamas, 34, a substitute teacher, was driving a motorcycle east on Lugonia Avenue in Redlands, on his way home from school. The plaintiff crashed into a vehicle operated by Thomas Chung, who was coming from the opposite direction and was making a left turn into his driveway. Llamas’s motorcycle hit the front of Chung’s car, and he was thrown approximately 150 feet.
An ambulance sent Llamas to an emergency room with a fracture to his left, non-dominant forearm. He underwent several surgeries, including open reduction-internal fixation with plating and skin grafting from his thigh. He also sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee for which he received arthroscopic surgery. Llamas also sustained lacerations to his bowel and colon, leading to a partial removal of both, and the insertion of a colostomy.
Llamas sued Chung for motor vehicle negligence. He claimed that Chung failed to yield to his oncoming motorcycle, which was going straight on Lugonia, as opposed to the defendant’s left-turning vehicle. Llamas claimed that he tried to avoid hitting Chung’s vehicle, but couldn’t, and collided with the car’s front end.
Chung contended that Llamas was speeding, and presented two eyewitnesses who stated that the plaintiff was driving between 70 mph and 80 mph in a zone where the speed limit was 50 mph. Chung claimed that, had Llamas been going slower, the accident could have been avoided because the plaintiff would have had enough distance to stop before the crash.
The plaintiff had a successful takedown of the colostomy after seven months and had no residual intestinal problems. He claimed residual weakness in his left arm with permanent disfigurement. He also claimed that he’d require future surgery on his injured left knee.
Llamas missed 1.5 years of work after the accident, but by trial he had returned to an active, working lifestyle. He sought damages for past and future pain and suffering, past and future medical costs and past lost earnings. The defense contended that the plaintiff’s knee injury was the result of a pre-existing condition relating to a compound fracture he had sustained in a car accident two years prior to the subject accident.
Chung did not contest the cause or severity of the plaintiff’s arm and intestinal injuries.
The jury found that Chung was 75-percent liable and Llamas was 25-percent at fault. Thus the damages awarded to Llamas were reduced to $867,480.
Motorcyclist sues Carolina Cargo Company after being involved in an accident at an intersection in Salinas, California, winning $536,000
Accident Type:
Motorcycle AccidentIncident Date:
Thursday, July 13, 2006Result Date:
Thursday, April 15, 2010Monetary Result:
$536,000Topics:
On July 13, 2006, Michael Hull, a 56-year-old general contractor, was stopped on his motorcycle at an intersection in Salinas, California, when he was involved in a collision with an SUV driven by Maria Ramirez and a tractor-trailer owned by Carolina Cargo, Inc. of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Hull suffered torn rotator cuffs in both of his shoulders, requiring two surgeries to repar. He claimed that his injuries left him permanently unable to raise his dominant right arm above his shoulder, and that because of this, he will be unable to return to his job as a contractor.
Hull decided to sue Carolina Cargo, its owner Regina Wood, and Maria Ramirez. He and his lawyers claimed that the truck cut the corner while making a turn, striking a van stopped in front of his motorcycle and dragging Ramirez's SUV backwards, knocking him off of his motorcycle.
Ramirez was dismissed from the trial by Hull and his lawyers before the trial. Carolina Cargo and Wood, however, argued that the truck never left its lane of travel. They also argued that Hull would be able to recover from his injury and that he would be able to return to his work in the future.
In the end, the jury sided with Hull and his lawyers. He was awarded $536,000 for his medical expenses and lost wages.
Motorcyclist's lawyers win his case after he was involved in accident with a commercial truck, sustaining torn ligaments
Accident Type:
Motorcycle AccidentIncident Date:
Tuesday, January 24, 2006Result Date:
Tuesday, January 13, 2009Monetary Result:
$705,297Topics:
On January 24, 2006, 46-year-old ironworker James Jaworowski was riding his motorcycle on Bosworth Street in San Francisco, California when he was struck by a Mitchell Engineering truck driven by Finbar James Brody. As Jaworowski was riding his motorcycle in the right lane, Brody changed intersections, resulting in the collision between the vehicles. In the accident, Jawarowski suffered several ligament tears, requiring him to undergo physical therapy resulting in one year of missed work. He claimed to have ongoing pain following the accident.
Jawarowski decided to sue Brody and his employer. He and his lawyers argued that Brody failed to yield the right of way to Jawarowski. To these ends, Brody testified that he did not look in two of his three mirrors while changing lanes.
Brody and his attorneys contended, however, that Jawarowski was speeding the time of the accident.
In the end, the jury ruled in favor of Jawarowski, awarding him $705,297.32. He was found 15% liable, however. After reducing the award due to his liability and adjusting for the amount actually paid to his health care provider, he was awarded $530,874.57.
Off-duty officer injured in motorcycle accident with a car and his lawyers win their lawsuit against negligent motorist
Accident Type:
Motorcycle AccidentIncident Date:
Saturday, October 8, 2005Result Date:
Wednesday, March 3, 2010Monetary Result:
$742,907Topics:
Court:
Contra Costa Superior Court
On Oct. 8, 2005, Ronald Knittel, 50, a K9 officer with the federal government, was riding his motorcycle in Concord, CA. On the road ahead of him, motorist Nancy Choi was lost, looking for a soccer field. She pulled to the right to begin a Uturn, however Knittel misunderstood, thinking she was letting him pass. He attempted to pass her on the left within the lane. When Choi began the U-turn, Knittel swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid collision, but his motorcycle crashed into the left front side of her car. The motorcycle slid, hit the curb and threw Knittel roughly 15 feet onto the air, throwing him onto the asphalt.
Due to the accident, Knittel lost consciousness and experienced temporary lower extremity paralysis. He was hospitalized overnight, then released as stable. He claimed headaches, radiating arm pain, lower back and leg pain.
Knittel sued Choi for her negligence in causing the accident. Choi denied pulling to the right and testified that she activated her turn signal. She intended to pull into the driveway of an air ambulance business. Her lawyers argued that Knittel simply passed a slow-moving vehicle at approximately 50 mph only four feet to the left of the centerline and that he did not notice Choi’s turn signal as he was focused on an oncoming vehicle.
Knittel insisted that he could no longer take the pain and planned to retire in April 2010 at age 55 after 20 years of service. Although Knittel worked full time since his return to work in January 2006, due to his early retirement and inability to work overtime since the accident, Knittel contended that his pension would be less than it would have been, had there been no accident. Choi's attorneys responded that Knittel had only a transient aggravation to his preexisting chronic neck and back problems, for which he underwent three sets of MRIs (two neck, one back) before the accident.
Her attorneys also denied that Knittel needed surgery, contending that the accident caused a flare up or aggravation lasting about three months.
Ultimately, Knittel and his attorneys won, awarding him $742,907. Choi was determined to be 75-percent at fault, while Knittel was found to be 25-percent at fault.
Shannon Nielson, 38, and her lawyers win her case against a trucking company after she and her fiance were involved in a crash with a truck, taking the life of her fiance and causing her serious injuries
Accident Type:
Motorcycle AccidentIncident Date:
Friday, September 23, 2005Result Date:
Tuesday, March 3, 2009Monetary Result:
$775,361Topics:
Court:
Orange County Superior CourtOn September 23, 2005, Shannon Nielson, a 38-year-old hairstylist, was riding on the back of a motorcycle that her fiance, Troy McDaniel, was driving on the Mt. Rose Highway in the Sierra Nevada range of California. As they were riding on the highway, they came across a flatbed truck operated by Carl McAlister, an employee of the White Cap Construction Supply company. McDaniel grounded the motorcycle to avoid striking the truck, which was making a U-turn on the two-lane highway. The couple skidded on the pavement towards the truck and were run over by its rear wheels. McDaniel died within the hour, however Nielson survived with injuriesto her pervic bone and her wrist. She was bedridden for three weeks and later used a walker and then crutches.
Nielson, McDaniel's estate, and his parents decided to sue McAlister and his employer, and its corporate owner, Home Depot USA, Inc. Ten months before the trial, however, McDaniel's parents agreed to a confidential settlement with Home Depot, and were voluntarily dismissed from the trial.
Nielson was therefore left as the only plaintiff at the trial. She and her lawyers argued that she and her fiance were traveling at approximately 40 MPH uphill and approached a slight curve. After taking the curve, she reported that she saw a truck positioned across the highway. As her fiance grounded the bike, they were propelled across the pavement into the truck. Subsequently, the trucks rear tires drove over McDaniel's chest and over her right hip.
The defendants admitted liability on the first day of trial.
Nielson claimed emotional distress at the thought of her open reduction surgery and the trauma related to the moments preceding the accident and at the time of the impact. In addition, the screws placed in her hip caused persistent irritation. As a yoga enthusiast, she can no longer perform certain poses, and the permanent discomfort of her right wrist has cause her difficulty in performing her work as a hairstylist. She therefore sought compensation for her medical expenses, loss of income, and emotional damages.
In the end, the jury ruled in favor of Nielson. She was awarded $775,361.
San Francisco meter maid awarded $1,595,000 after her three-wheeled vehicle's brakes fail resulting in multiple injuries
Accident Type:
Other Type of AccidentIncident Date:
Friday, August 5, 2005Result Date:
Friday, July 18, 2008Monetary Result:
$1,595,000Topics:
At 12:44 p.m. on August 4, 2005, plaintiff Mercy Zamora, a San Francisco meter maid in her 40s, was driving a three-wheeled vehicle on Harrison Street, toward First Street, when her brakes failed while driving downhill. She was traveling at 22 mph and hit a van that was stopped at the red light on First Street. The force of the impact caused the bottom of the front of the vehicle to be crushed upward while the roof collapsed downward. The steering wheel became lodged into Zamora’s lower abdomen and she was trapped in the vehicle. Emergency workers used the Jaws of Life to free Zamora. She was sent to a hospital with multiple injuries.
Zamora sustained a fractured hand, a fractured knee, a lacerated liver, a lacerated vagina, a pelvic fracture, and a variety of other lacerations. She was in the hospital for six weeks after the accident, and spent another three months in a rehabilitation facility treating the injuries.
Zamora sued the manufacturers and distributors of the vehicle, Textron Inc., Providence, R.I.; Ransomes America Corp., Augusta, Ga.; and Cushman Inc., Augusta, Ga.; to recover personal-injury damages. Zamora also filed a negligent manufacturing action against the companies that made and distributed the wheel cylinder on the vehicle, Affinia Group Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Brake Parts Inc., McHenry, Ill.
Zamora's attorneys argued that Cushman was negligent for not equipping the vehicle with a roll cage, a shoulder harness, or a viable secondary brake, per the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Cushman should have equipped it with a dualmaster cylinder brake system instead of the singe master cylinder system it had installed.
Zamora's attorneys also argued that Affinia/BPI was liable for a manufacturing defect in the wheel cylinder it provided for the vehicle because its failure had caused the entire braking system to fail. They asserted that when the vehicle was inspected after the collision, the Affinia/BPI wheel cylinder was broken. They claimed that since there was a 300-foot line of brake fluid tracing up the hill from the point of impact, it proved the wheel cylinder had broken and caused the entire brake line to fail.
Counsel for Cushman contended that the company wasn’t required to install a dual braking system or a shoulder harness when it built the vehicle in 1992, because it was defined as a motorcycle and therefore satisfied the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The company also claimed that the vehicle was so old when it was in the collision that all of the parts had been replaced by the city, and the Cushman defendants couldn’t be held liable for the failure of parts it didn’t design, manufacture or distribute.
Counsel for Affinia/BPI contended that there was no evidence that its wheel cylinder had failed before the collision. Counsel asserted that the damage to the wheel cylinder was consistent with a part that had been damaged in the collision. Counsel for Affinia/BPI argued that the master cylinder had failed and that was why there was a stream of brake fluid leading down to the area where the collision occurred.
The defense contended that the city was liable, and it was added to the verdict form. The defense argued that the city’s negligent repair caused the master cylinder to fail and disable the entire brake line before the accident. Counsel referenced a June 2005 repair report that demonstrated that there had been complaints about the brakes, but the mechanic didn’t take any action other than changing a tire on the vehicle, despite its being out of use for about six weeks. Counsel argued that the city had also overtorqued the master cylinder, and that caused the master cylinder to weaken and eventually crack.
Zamora's attorneys stated that two feet of Zamora’s intestine had to be removed, and she also sustained a mild brain injury, and developed PTSD and depression. They claimed $295,000 for Zamora’s past medical damages and sought an additional $150,000 for future medical damages because Zamora would require physical therapy once per month as well as ongoing emotional and psychological treatment.
Zamora's attorneys also claimed that she was unable to work for the remainder of her life because her IQ was in the low 80s after the collision and she couldn’t perform the tasks of a meter maid. Zamora claimed it took her more than six months to return to walking and one year to walk without crutches. The parties stipulated to $150,000 in past lost earnings and Zamora’s counsel requested more than $1 million for future lost earnings.
Noting the damage to Zamora’s ovary, and the limitations on Zamora’s ability to perform physical activities she had previously enjoyed such as running, her attorneys requested unspecified damages for past and future pain and suffering.
Regarding the allegation that Zamora had suffered a brain injury in the accident, defense counsel argued that Zamora’s IQ had never been tested before the accident so there wasn’t any proof she had become cognitively impaired.
The defense claimed that Zamora had performed 90 days of light duty work for the city since the accident and was able to continue working in a sedentary capacity despite some physical limitations.
The defense also argued that Zamora wasn’t entitled to recover any future pain and suffering damages because she had been both walking and running for some time before the trial, as evidenced by her completion of a half-marathon just two weeks before trial.
The jury ultimately ruled a mixed verdict. They found the city of San Francisco to be 57.5% negligent, the Cushman company 37.5% negligent, and Zamora 5% negligent. Affinia/Brake Parts Inc. was found 0% negligent. They ultimately awarded Zamora $1,595,000.