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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.