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Date:
Friday, August 19, 2022Area:
Fargo-Valley City, NDMotorcyclist loses case against the city of Stockton, California for negligent road construction
Accident Type:
Motorcycle AccidentIncident Date:
Monday, October 12, 1981Result Date:
Wednesday, April 4, 1984Monetary Result:
$0Topics:
Court:
San Joaquin Superior Court
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.
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 AccidentResult Date:
Sunday, February 1, 1981Monetary Result:
$1,000,000Topics:
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.