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Deceased motorcyclist's family sue the city of Simi Valley, California after he swerved to avoid a pothole, striking a tree and dying, winning $475,000 in a settlement

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Wednesday, March 1, 1995
Result Date: 
Saturday, September 1, 2001
Monetary Result: 
$475,000
  Mr. Byron, 19, was riding his motorcycle in the city of Simi Valley, California in March of 1995 when he swerved to miss a large pothole on the street, going off the road and striking a tree. The collision killed Mr. Byron, who was survived by his family. Byron's family brought a suit against the city of Simi, California. They and their lawyers argued that the city had failed to properly maintain the roadway he was riding on. They maintained that they had not only failed to prevent or fill the pothole, but had also failed to barricade or warn motorists of the dangerous condition of the roadway. The city of Simi Valley and their attorneys contended that Mr. Byron's inexperience operating a motorcycle and his excessive rate of speed resulted in the accident, rather than the condition of the street. In the end, the case was settled to the amount of $475,000.

Motorcycle officer's lawyers win his case after he runs off of a state highway in Ventura County, California

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Wednesday, January 1, 1986
Result Date: 
Tuesday, October 1, 1991
Monetary Result: 
$850,000

 

Mr. Blackburn, a 44-year-old motorcycle officer, was riding his bike on a state highway in Ventura County, California when he drove of the road and into a cement railroad control box. The roadway had once been a throughway, however a portion of it had been closed due to the realighment of a state highway. Blackburn sustained a fracture and dislocation of his left hip, a fracture in his pelvis, and a nerve injury to his lower left leg. The injuries resulted in a minor foot drop and the future possibility of developing avascular necrosis and arthritis in his left hip, which would require a hip replacement.

Blackburn decided to sue the state of California for its failure to warn that the road ends. The state of California's lawyers contended that the roadway was clearly marked, and that Blackburn had ignored the warnings and purposely used the closed portion of the highway as a shortcut. Furthermore, they pointed out that the land on which the accident took place was not owned by the state at that time. 

The jury sided with Blackburn, for a total award of $850,000. He was found 40% at fault, however, and the total amount was reduced to $510,000.

Motorcyclist's lawyers win her case against Whatcom County for negligent road design, winning a total of $800,000

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Tuesday, May 1, 1984
Result Date: 
Thursday, January 1, 1987
Monetary Result: 
$800,000
Hopson Anderson's left leg was riding her motorcycle in Whatcom County, Washington when she began negotiating a tight curve. Her motorcycle crossed the center line of the road and she struck another vehicle. As she clipped the oncoming vehicle, she severely injured her left leg. Her injuries resulted in an amputation of her left leg below the knee. A male passenger on her motorcycle additionally suffered a fractured left leg. She and her attorneys asserted that the accident was the result of the county's improper maintenance and design of the roadway. They further claimed that Whatcom County was responsible for the failure of posting a warning sign about the curve. In the end, Anderson and her attorneys won the case, earning an $800,000 reward.

Motorcyclist's lawyers win his case after accident, despite allegedly having alcohol in his system and not wearing a helmet

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Sunday, January 22, 1984
Result Date: 
Friday, February 27, 1987
Monetary Result: 
$1,823,000

 

At around 12: 40 a.m., the Plaintiff, Parmley, 19 years of age, was coming back from a party on his motorcycle. He lost control of his motorcycle while negotiating a sharp curve. He ran into the center divider and was ejected 130 feet from the site of the crash. This resulted in massive internal injureis, including brain damage and a skull fracture. The curve was posted for a maximum speed of 40 mph. However, Cal­Trans had calculated the maximum speed for the curve was 20 mph. Parmley claimed the City failed to post the correct safe-speed warning sign, allowing this dangerous condition to exist.

The Defendent, the City of Whittier, California, contended that Parmley had been drinking and driving and was not wearing a helmet, and that he had made a remarkable recovery. However, the city argued, his head injuries could have been prevented altogether had he used a helmet. In addition, the fact that Parmley had alcohol in his system resulted in his inability to safely drive through the curve.

The jury ultimately sided with the Parmley and awarded $1,823,000. However, he was found to be 40% negligent, due to not wearing a helmet and his alcohol use. His net result was $1,093,800.

Motorcyclist loses case against the city of Stockton, California for negligent road construction

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Monday, October 12, 1981
Result Date: 
Wednesday, April 4, 1984
Monetary Result: 
$0
  Early in the morning on October 12, 1981 Jerry Baudensdistel, a 21-year-old shift supervisor at a bakery was driving his motorcycle down Charter Way in the city of Stockton. A pickup truck emerged off of Aurora Street, and Baudendistel slams his motorcycle into the truck, and was ran over by a third vehicle. He sustained serious injuries in the crash, including partial paraplegia, with a loss of functioning below the waist. He also suffered constant muscle spasms. Baudendistel decided to sue the city of Stockton for negligent road construction. He argued that he could not see far enough down Charter Way to be able to see a vehicle coming out of Aurora Street. The city claimed that there was no lack of sight distance and that sight distance was not a proximate cause of the accident. Ultimately, the city of Stockton won the case and Baudendistel was not given any award.

17-year-old motorcyclist's lawyers win his case against Sacramento County after he suffered brain damage and debilitating injuries

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Saturday, September 19, 1981
Result Date: 
Wednesday, January 2, 1985
Monetary Result: 
$854,000
  Robert Graves, 17, was riding his motorcycle down Garfield Avenue in Sacramento County, California on a Saturday night on September 19, 1981 and was trying to find a party accompanied by his friend Ron Strem and his girlfriend, who were riding in a car. Due to Graves's amnesia that resulted from the incident, Strem and others had to reconstruct what happened that night. According to Strem, the two had attended a party at a local park on the afternoon of the accident, gone to a sandwich shop to see a friend, where they had dinner, and met Strem’s girlfriend, who accompanied them as they stopped in at more parties they had heard were to be held that evening. Strem recalls that neither of the young men had consumed any alcoholic beverages during the day or the evening. Ron Strem, and his girlfriend, in his car, and Plaintiff, on his motorcycle, last stopped at a home on Silverstrand Way, and finding no one there that they knew, they decided to split up. Strem ;drove about one­half block, to the dead­end on Silverstrand, turned around, and proceeded westbound on Silverstrand. In the meantime, Graves had gotten on his motorcycle, started it and drove east on Silverstrand toward the dead­-end. According to an eyewitness, Graves accelerated his motorcycle, to at least 40 m.p.h., in the a ­half block distance, and backed off his accelerator just before striking the dead­end divider, but did not hit his brakes. At the end of Silverstrand Way there is a concrete and asphalt divider, six feet wide, which separates the end of Silverstrand Way from Garfield Avenue, which runs perpendicular to Silverstrand. Graves struck the divider, became airborne, and collided with a vehicle which was being driven south on Garfield Avenue. When Graves was found he was not breathing, and had to be revived at the scene through the use of closed heart massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He later had a tracheostomy in the Emergency Room. He suffered brain damage, which manifested itself in loss of short term memory, and has deficits in expression through speech or writing, with a slim chance of improvement. Plaintiff suffered multiple fractures of the hip, pelvis, ribs, clavicle and foot. He was in a coma for eighteen days, lost his spleen, had a flail chest, and is unable to walk without a cane. He was not wearing a helmet, however the defendant's attorney's were not able to use this to prove comparative fault due to the judge's order. Graves argued that there was a dangerous condition of public property, in that the signing on Silverstrand was improper. There was a yellow reflectorized, diamond­-shaped Type N sign at the end of Silverstrand, facing east-bound traffic, and mounted on the divider at the centerpoint of Silverstrand. Graves argued that this sign was improper because it did not clearly notify the driver that the street was coming to an end. It was alleged that, either the the word "END" should have been written on the yellow sign, or it should have been a red reflectorized Type N sign, and that both of the latter signs are more in conformity with the recommendations of the State Traffic Manual than the sign that was used. Graves also argued that, at the last entrance onto Silverstrand, there was no Not a Through Street sign, as recommended by the State Traffic Manual, although its absence was not made known until one and a ­half years after the accident in question, by County investigators. County records show that such a sign was erected some time prior to the accident, and the testimony of the residents of the area do not agree whether or not the sign was missing as of the date of the accident. The County of Sacramento and their lawyers contended that the intersection was well lit, and that the yellow Type N sign was clearly visible for at least three hundred feet prior to the end of the roadway. They also argued that Graves was driving far in excess of the 25 m.p.h. speed limit, that Plaintiff’s driving was impaired by alcohol, and that the road was not dangerous when used with due care. In the end, the jury sided with Graves, who was awarded $854,000. He was found to be 52% at fault, however, and therefore this award had to be reduced to $405,650.

Motorcyclist loses case against the State of California for negligent road design

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Wednesday, June 14, 1978
Result Date: 
Monday, May 23, 1983
Monetary Result: 
$0
  This accident happened on June 14, 1978, at 4:10 p.m., in clear weather, on SR 36, at the Mill Creek Bridge in Tehama County. Daniel Blake, a 22-year-old assistant manager at a pizza parlor, was driving over the bridge when he ran into the re-acclimate seal on the roadway. He claimed that it was after the motorcycle ran over the seal that he lost control of his motorcycle. An oncoming vehicle struck Blake's leg and the rear half of his motorcycle. He suffered serious injuries that resulted in the loss of his right leg above the knee, as well as fractures and lacerations. He was in the hospital for three and a­ half months. Blake decided to sue the State of California for negligent road construction. He argued that there was not proper signage designating the appropriate speed crossing the bridge, and therefore he was driving too fast when he hit the seal on the pavement. The state contended that Blake was negligent in operating his motorcycle at a high rate of speed, and that his excessive speed caused the crash and his injuries. In the end, the state won its case, and Blake did not receive any award for his injuries.

Motorcycle passenger's lawyers win suit, awarding the passenger $1,000,000 and finding the city of Coachella negligent in its placement of a wall at an intersection

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Result Date: 
Sunday, February 1, 1981
Monetary Result: 
$1,000,000
  Mr. Zamarripa, a 17-­year­-old youth, sustained severe brain damage, including spastic paralysis and a speech impediment when the motorcycle he was riding as a passenger crashed into a van at an intersection. Zamarripa claimed that a five foot high wall on the Union Oil company’s property caused his stepfather, who was driving the motorcycle, to be unable to see on-coming cars at the intersection. Zamarripa sued the city of Coachella for negligently placing the wall. The defending oil company denied this claim and argued that the wall had nothing to do with the accident which took place 86 feet past the intersection. The verdict was in favor of Zamarripa, who recieved $1,000,000 damages. It was judged, however, that only the city, and not the oil company, were responsible for the placement of the wall.

Arizona motorcyclist's lawyers win his case against the city of Yuma for not installing proper signs after accident that left him paralyzed

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Result Date: 
Saturday, January 1, 1983
Monetary Result: 
$1,163,000
  Mr. Roberts, 26­-year­-old journeyman ironworker was rendered paraplegic following his motorcycle crash. The accident happened as he was coming home from a late night out on a road in the city of Yuma, Arizona. Roberts had stopped at a stop sign to enter a major highway, entered the roadway, and attempted to negotiate a curve. As his motorcycle reached the curve, the roadway dropped underneath. The cycle hit a curve and rolled over. Roberts argued that the city was negligent for failing  to reduce the speed of the roadway and failing to warn of the curve. The judge in this case found the city of Yuma was negligent for failure to install proper signs around the area in question and returned a $1,163,000 award. The award was comprised of $514,000 for the present value of future lost earnings, $199,000 for past and future medical expenses, and $450,000 for pain and suffering.