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Date: 
Friday, January 9, 2015
It was about 7:39am when a car driven by Rohde drifted into the oncoming lane of US 22 NW and collided with a dump truck driven by James M. Taylor, 31. Police believe that a combination of the below-freezing temperatures and blowing snow that were present at the time contributed to Rohde losing control. Taylor was uninjured in the crash, but Rohde was declared dead at the scene.

Deceased motorcyclist's parents and their lawyers win their case against a laundry company after one of their drivers struck and killed their son

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Monday, February 1, 1988
Result Date: 
Saturday, December 1, 1990
Monetary Result: 
$850,000

Mr. Martin, a 23-year-old airline baggage clerk was riding his motorcycle in February, 1988 when it collided with a laundry delivery truck owned by Peerless Laundry making a left turn into Martin's path. Mr. Martin died as a result of the accident.

Martin's parents decided to sue the laundry company for the wrongful death of their son. During the trial, it was revealed that the driver at the time was actually an accounts-payable clerk who happened to be filling in as a driver that day. Martin's parents and their lawyers argued that the laundry company was negligent in using an untrained employee as a driver, and that the driver was searching for an address at the time of the accident. They produced witnesses that stated that their son was driving within the speed limit with his headlight on at the time of the crash.

The dendant laundry company contended that the driver was not negligent. They argued that Martin was driving over 100 MPH at the time of the crash without his headlight on.

In the end, the jury sided with Martin's parents and their lawyers, awarding them $850,000.

Lawyers of deceased youth's parents win their clients $567,345 after their son died in a motorcycle accident with a commercial vehicle

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Incident Date: 
Friday, May 8, 1987
Result Date: 
Monday, April 2, 1990
Monetary Result: 
$907,751
  This accident was occured when a 17-year-old motorcyclist collided with a commercial vehicle at a busy intersection, resulting in the youth's death. The incident occurred at 7 p.m. on May 8, 1987 in clear weather, at an intersection with two lanes and a left­ hand turn lane running south to north and two lanes north to south, in the City of Lafayette, California. Michael Richardson, 45-years-old and Audrey Richardson are the parents of a 17-year-old boy who was killed in a motorcycle accident. They argued that an employee of the defending copmany, Style Master Exteriors, who was driving a car, took an illegal left turn which blocked the boy’s right of way. The boy’s motorcycle crashed into the car, and he died at the site of the accident. The parents claimed the illegal left turn was the cause of the accident and that the driver, and therefore his comapany as well, were the negligent party. The case was settled against the driver himself before trial for his insurance policy limits of $15,000. The driver's employer, Style Master Exteriors, argued the crash was caused by the negligence of the motorcycle rider. They alleged that the motorcyclist was racing with another boy. They claimed he therefore was driving too fast and following the other boy too closely, and that this caused him to be inattentive to vehicles in the intersection. The employer further claimed that, because the boy died of a head injury and was not wearing a helmet, his injuries were caused by his own negligence. The vehicle driver's employer also claimed the boy’s mother negligently entrusted her son with the motorcycle. Ultimately, the Richardsons won their suit against the employer of the vehicle's driver, Style Master Exteriors. The total amount awarded to the deceased motorcyclist's parents totaled $907,751. Their son, however, was found to be 37.5% at fault, and therefore the total amount they recieved totaled $567,345.