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Senior Member
 
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Last Login: 7/6/2008 10:52:54 AM
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This happened one year ago today and recently the rider has decided to sue for undisclosed damages.
My brother was attempting to turn left out of a parking lot (he was in a car). Upon completing the left turn he would have been approaching an intersection that was approximately 150 to 200 feet away.
His vision was obscured by mailboxes right next to the exit and a poorly located dumpster with a bush between it and the road about 30 feet closer to the intersection.
After waiting for a lengthy period of time for a gap in the flow of traffic he pulled out. When he was well into the street he saw a head light emerge from the blind spot created by the visual obstructions mentioned above.
The rider admits in the accident report to laying the bike down before impact.
According to my brother, and this should be readily confirmed by the photos from the scene, the bike stopped pretty much on impact leaving a small dent in the fender that was readily popped out by hand and a mark on the hubcap. The bike's front tire was still contacting the hubcap and the headlamp was still contacting the dent. The bike was on its left side and still oriented perpendicular to the car. The rider ended up on the pavement directly in front of the car. Accident scene photos were taken but my brother hasn't seen them. I attempted to get a look but they'd been handed over to the state and were unavailable.
The posted speed limit was 35 mph and the bike was a Honda Shadow (mid 1980s model). The bike had made a right turn at the intersection so he wasn't flying through it at speed.
I had my brother place his car in the same location and I took my cage through the rider's travel path. I had my wife video tape this pass from the passenger side, the middle of the car, and from my side of the car to get a good shot of what the rider saw depending upon his lane position. In all three vids you can clearly see the front of my brother's car sticking out in front of the mail boxes and the dumpster when you round the corner at the intersection.
You cannot, however, see the driver of the car until you get even with the dumpster.
My assumptions are that the rider must have locked the front wheel and tucked in as the rear of the bike never swung around and that the bike was not moving very fast upon impact as it remained in contact rather than bouncing. It is also clear that my brother had brought the car to a halt before impact as it didn't move forward of the bike relative to the damage.
Several witnesses were around and attempted to help the guy up and my brother instructed them to leave him alone and told him to stay down. Someone else attempted to move the bike and again my brother told them not to touch it as there was perhaps an injury.
The rider was transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital and was treated and released. We have no idea of the extent of any injuries and the damage to the bike appeared to be minimal. What we do know is the insurance company did cover the rider shortly after the accident to the tune of $2000 to $3000.
My assumption is the guy attempted to swerve around him and grabbed a hand full of front brake simultaneously tucking in with a low side. I have my doubts that this is little more than a money grab ploy as he's got representation from a company that advertises on the boob toob and only gets paid out of any settlement. The rider also claims the car was still moving when the bike hit it. I find this a bit odd as he was sliding around on the pavement at that particular time. My brother maintains he stopped immediately upon seeing the headlamp.
The insurance company said the claim is for an undisclosed amount and could exceed coverage. Naturally this has my brother a bit uptight as he's on disability after a debilitating spinal cord injury that happened about 15 years ago and this could really screw up what little he's got now that he's carefully invested and grown so he can make payments for the medications he's on now ($500/month, thanks W).
I am a bit biased, even as a motorcyclist, that this is a load of BS but it is my brother that is being sued. He used to ride too, years before his injuries, so this upset him quite significantly at the scene even though he was the only one that knew what to do, or more appropriately, not to do with the rider and the bike.
No citations were issued. Yet I think my brother should have been cited for failure to yeild and the rider should have been cited for failing to maintain control of a vehicle and possible failure to avoid a collision.
My thoughts are the lawyers will seek ridiculous money and the insurance company will offer a fraction of that. Then they'll negotiate to a rather low figure so as to avoid court room drama and expense. I'm assuming that number will be commensurate with a little less than the insurance company would spend on legal fees and the injury specialist firm will be happy with their 30 to 40% of 25 to 30 K as they only had a legal secretary fill out a standard form followed by half and hour of back and forth with the insurance company over and out of court settlement.
The accident took place in a rather smallish town. The rider lives not far from the scene as does my brother so both of them should be well familiar with the intersection and the businesses near with their parking lots and associated entrances/exits.
So, my question is what are everyone's thoughts?
String up my brother?
Make the rider take MSF training and then advanced training so he knows how to turn an accident into an inconvenience?
Sit outside his home with surveilance cameras to see if he's out doing backflips on a trampoline?
Settle out of court and make the rider complete the above training if he's got intentions of keeping his MC endorsement? I'm assuming he's got one because he was wearing leather jacket and a full face helmet rather than a beanie and a wife beater (it was a nice day last year).
Sorry for the babbling post, but I'm interested in some unbiased opinions.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 2 days ago @ 3:56:13 PM
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I don't know what state you're in, and I haven't been involved in this sort of work for a while, but insurance companies used to be willing to settle for 3 or 4 times the "specials", or medical bills for soft tissue injuries (two decades ago. They've gotten stingier.) If his medicals were 3 or 4 grand, nothing much happened to him (the rider,) and his lawyer is just figuring on getting something modest for asking.
The bad news and good news, depending on whether you are a rider or not, is that riders take a beating in trial after taking a beating in a crash. The rest of the world thinks we're nuts and deserve what we get, or at the very least, contributed to what we get.
I know it's much easier to say than it is to do, but your brother should not let this eat him up. His insurance company will settle the case without even letting him know and surcharge him for being involved in a crash, but they'll settle 'cause it will be cheaper than playing with the rider's lawyer much. You're brother's insurance cost will go up a little. No way this is going to trial with the limited injuries you described (by cost.) And no way it's going to get into his money unless he's only got about 10 cents worth of liability coverage.
If, and it's a big if, your brother can convince his insurance it's a nuisance suit and not really his fault, MAYBE they won't surcharge him, but that's not likely.
Life is too short to get wrapped around the axle about folks gaming the system, as aggravating as it can be. Your brother should just let his insurance company handle it and provide as much information as possible that serves his own purpose. I don't think his money is at risk.
Jack
We are like stripes in a tube of toothpaste.
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Advanced Member
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Fault aside if your brother can prove that an obstructed view was mostly at fault and the rider is suing the wrong person and needs to go after the city and or dumpster owner he may be able to get it thrown out. Even the fact that no ticket was issued will help.
My bet is in the end they will settle with insurance unless your brother has deep pockets. That is the way of those low life TV personal injury lawyers. What ever they can get is money for nothing. They care little for their clients or the people they sue. All they want is to turn a quick settlement.
Torqueman
Battle Creek, MI
V-Strom 06
Goldwing 03
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Average Member
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Last Login: 11/14/2008 10:08:58 AM
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The insurance company lawyers are good - that's why the insurance company uses them. The TV lawyers know they can get a pay day by accepting a settlement without a lot of litigation. That's all it is - a money grab.
Luckily, no one was seriously injured or killed. This thread may be a good wake up call for all of us to practice a little panic braking on our bikes in an empty parking lot. One of the toughest things to do in an emergency situation is to let up on the brakes to regain some steering in order to avoid a collision. I'm not sure if I could do it in a real live situation on the streets.
Blind curves and obstructions on the side of the road mean one thing to me - slow down and procede with caution.
Now, let me get this right - is it one down, four up?
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Average Member
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I have no legal background, but like jjoyce wrote, I have heard that same thing, about 3 to 4 times the cost of medical bills for no real injury type accidence. The one case I do know of (follow worker) got broad sided in his car, got the cost of the car (within two weeks), which the bank got most of. The med bills were 12 or 14 hundred, the insurance company offered him 6K, he hired a lawyer, his friends told him to. They settled for 10K and the lawyer took 45%, he got 5,500. Now that worked out real well didn't it. Oh yaw it took almost two years; he could have had 6K within a month.
Gfurlo
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Senior Member
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Last Login: 7/6/2008 10:52:54 AM
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Thanks for the input fellahs.
Yes, this is a wake up call to go out and practice motorcycle ballet in a parking lot to hone those skills and ingrain reactions that may seem counterintuitive to natural reflexes.
This occured in Tennessee. Whatever that dictates.
The recommendation to relocate the furniture was made to the attending police officer by a witness and my brother. The dumpster was still there as of a few days ago as are the mail boxes.
I really wish I could get my brother to relax on this but his mental and physical health have seen it already eating him from the inside out. His only did find out he was being sued a few short weeks ago when he received a packet of forms from the firm of "Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe" and instructions to fill out the interoggatories (sp?). Those are a list of questions designed to let them know your side so they don't get any surprises in court or other interactions. In this they asked for his social security number.
He contacted the insurance company sharpish and they told him to not fill out a thing as they were handling the entire case.
I've hammered him with the notion that I believe this will end with a fairly nominal settlement out of court that will only affect him by raised premiums for a few years (as predicted above). I also advised that it may take quite some length of time to settle it which will only serve to add to his angst by not having it go away soon.
I can relay some of this to him as it may give a little comfort.
I must admit to being a bit done in with the guy for biting on the TV ads. His sister contacted my brother just a day or two after the accident to obtain insurance information for his claim. My brother happily cooperated. That hadn't been done earlier as the guy was carted off on a back board - for those that don't know, this is standard procedure for anyone taking a ride in an ambulance after a motorcycle accident. He asked her how her brother was doing and she said he was fine apart from some soreness/stiffness after the crash.
I would like the guy to be forced to take some MSF training as a part of the settlement. I'd even offer to pay his tuition.
Thanks again.
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