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  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.

On 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.

  David Aultman was driving his Yamaha motorcycle north on State Route 9 in Snohomish County, Washington on September 20, 2003. Meanwhile, Margaret Blystone was driving her car west on 164th Street SE and stopped at a stop sign at the intersection with State Route 9. She began to proceed into the intersection, placing her car in the way of Mr. Aultman. According to his family and attorneys, he did not have enough time to avoid hitting her, and he and his motorcycle collided with the side of Mrs. Blystone's vehicle. Mr. Aultman died in the accident as a result of blunt-force trauma.  Mr. Aultman's wife Bonnie filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2004 against Mrs. Blystone and her husband Olin. She and her attorneys argued that Mrs. Blystone's negligence was the single factor that caused the accident and her husband's death. She sought damages on behalf of her husband for physical pain and suffering, mental and emotional suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium (loss of her spouse and his support), and medical and funeral expenses. The Blystones denied any negligence, and contended that Mr. Aultman had negligently operated his vehicle. They brought an expert witness, an accident reconstructionist, who concluded that Mr. Aultman shoudl have been able to stop before the collision. He had, according to the expert, applied his brakes too heavily, resulting in him losing control. Ultimately, the jury sided with Mrs. Aultman and her lawyers, awarding a total of $615,773.29. Mr. Aultman was not found to have contributed to the accident.

  On September 1, 1999, Gregory Gumm was riding his motorcycle in Palm Springs, California on Alejo Avenue, approaching the intersection of Farrell Avenue. When he was about 100 feet from the intersection the light changed from red to green. Gumm stopped slowing down and began accelerating. He observed a white SUV that was proceeding on Alejo Avenue through the intersection of Farrell Avenue in the opposite direction from him. Once the SUV was into the intersection, Gumm saw another vehicle coming into the intersection against the light. Le Kim Phung, the defendant in this case, was driving south on Farrell Avenue and approached the intersection of Alejo Avenue, where she ran the red light. Due to the close proximity of Gumm and his motorcycle to the intersection, and in an effort to avoid the accident, he downshifted and put on his brakes. The motorcycle started to go down on the right and then uprighted and went down on the left and slid some 53 feet to the intersection. Gumm suffered a fracture of his left femur close to the area of his prosthetic left hip. He was hospitalized for 33 days and in traction immediately after the accident in an effort to heal the fracture. He was hospitalized a second time for five days for fever and pain in his left leg. On December 24, 1999, plaintiff was re­admitted to Desert Hospital with pain and fever, diagnosed as an infection in his left hip. His hip was removed, and he remained hospitalized until February 2000. He went on to have seven other surgeries in 2000 for infection of the hip, including several irrigations and debridements of the bone and tissue. For a period of more than eight months, he suffered with a large open wound in the hip that had to be cleaned and dressed several times a day. At present, Gumm has lost his left hip and is unable to bear weight on his left leg. Due to his debilitating injuries, Gumm filed a peronal injury lawsuit against Phung. In addition, both parties filed a separate suit against his doctor based on the failure to treat the hip infection in a timely fashion. The two people in the white SUV witnessed the accident. The driver was Rob Parkins, City Manager for the City of Palm Springs. Mr. Parkins testified under oath, and also reported to the police at the accident site, that he observed the motorcycle skidding and observed that the light for the motorcycle was green in Gumm's direction of traffic at the time he was trying to avoid the accident with Phung's car. The passenger in the SUV, City Attorney David Aleshire, testified that he saw the motorcyclist do everything he could to avoid colliding with defendant’s car. The accident scene was investigated by Civilian Safety Officer, Jerry Poss. Officer Poss had more than 20 years of traffic investigation experience at the time of the accident. Officer Poss interviewed both parties, and witness Parkins at the scene of the accident. He also measured the gouge marks and made a diagram of the scene. Officer Poss believed that Phung had run the red light and Gumm had attempted to stop his motorcycle to avoid broadsiding the Phung car by braking, resulting in the motorcycle laying down. Several attempts were made to settle the case against Phung out of court. Her insurance provider, however, refused to settle within the policy limits in a timely fashion. There were three mediations, however Phung and her insurance carrier only offered her policy limits of $100,000. In the end, the jury sided with Gumm and his attorneys, awarding him $650,000. He was, however, found to be 30% liable in the accident.