Motorcycle accidents

Road Debris Motorcycle Injury Case Weighed by State High Court

December 28, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The Kentucky Supreme Court recently considered the personal injury lawsuit of a man who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident when he encountered a large, downed tree in the roadway.

Plaintiff suffered serious personal injuries and sought compensation from the county’s engineer and public works director, arguing these individuals owed a duty of care to maintain the roads in reasonably safe condition, and were negligent in failing to remove the tree or warn motorists about the danger. Defendants filed a motion for qualified official immunity in their individual capacities, which the trial court granted for the public works director, but not for the county engineer. An appellate court later affirmed this decision, citing the state statute that specifically states a county engineer is responsible to remove trees or other obstacles from public roads when the road debris is a hazard to traffic. (Defendant argued he wasn’t aware of the statute and it was the county’s public work’s maintenance department that was responsible for tree removal). With qualified immunity protection not available for defendant, the case went to trial and lasted eight days. Defendant testified he was never responsible for tree removal and his team didn’t have equipment to do so, as it had always been the job of the public works department.

After all evidence was presented, defendant sought a directed judgment, which was denied, but the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of defendant, concluding plaintiff hadn’t proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the engineer failed to comply with his statutory duty. Continue reading ›

Florida Motorcycle Accident Awareness Needed Every Month

June 11, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Tragedy struck recently when a motorcyclist was killed in a Florida motorcycle accident in Melbourne, leaving behind to mourn him his pregnant 22-year-old wife and their 1-year-old daughter.

Florida Today reports the 22-year-old welder had just finished work for the day and was on his way home when the crash happened. News accounts have few details, but here’s what we can say: Motorcycle accidents claim far too many lives in Florida every year.

May was Motorcycle Accident Awareness Month, but the truth is, this is an issue that affects Floridians daily – directly or indirectly. These are people’s fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, wives and husbands. They are the people we rely on, and those we love. This young man who had his whole life ahead of him has now become a statistic in what is an appalling toll of casualties in Florida and nationwide. Continue reading ›

Court: Motorcycle Accident Liability Hinges on Proximate Cause

May 12, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Proximate cause is a legal concept that limits liability along the chain of causation. In order to establish that one person’s negligence is the proximate cause of another, a plaintiff must show there was:

Defendant’s negligent act was the cause-in-fact (i.e., a reasonable certainty defendant’s actions caused the injury and injury would not have occurred but for defendant’s conduct);
Defendant’s negligent act was the legal cause of injury (i.e., The injury was foreseeable/ of a type that a reasonable person would see as the likely result of his or her conduct).

Questions regarding proximate cause come up a lot anytime there are chain reaction collisions. However, the farther apart in space and time the crashes occur, and the more that happens in the meantime (i.e., superseding causes), the lesser the chance that an act of negligence will be deemed the proximate cause of another’s injury. This is what was seen in a recent case out of South Dakota involving a motorcycle accident wherein two bikers crashed on the same road, near the same curve, but a 40-minute time span apart. The two motorcyclists never collided with each other. Still, the second motorcyclist (plaintiff) alleged the negligence of the first (defendant) created a dangerous condition that was the proximate cause of his crash. Continue reading ›

Report: Florida Motorcycle Accident Deaths Up 30 Percent

April 10, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Last month marked the 76th annual Daytona Bike Week, where hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists thundered into Florida to enjoy the warm climate and camaraderie.

While initial reports were that motorcycle accidents surrounding the event had tapered off, this news was dampened by recently-released figures from AAA, which reported Florida had a stunning 30 percent uptick in motorcycle deaths in 2015. Perhaps not surprising given that number, Florida was also reported to have the highest number of motorcycle deaths in the nation. It held the same top spot last year.

AAA reported there were 26 motorcycle accident deaths in Lee County, which means it tied for sixth place statewide for the most rider deaths in 2015. Miami-Dade reportedly ranked No. 1 with 67 motorcycle crash deaths that year, and Hillsborough ranked No. 2 with 48 fatalities. Continue reading ›

$18.5M Motorcycle Accident Settlement Reached for Man With Critical Injuries

March 31, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

An injury lawsuit has been resolved with an $18.5 million settlement on behalf of a man who suffered critical injuries in a motorcycle accident two years ago.

The claim was filed against both the state’s department of transportation, as well as a construction contractor whose employee made an illegal U-turn without warning on a highway on-ramp, straight into the motorcyclist’s path.

Although claims against the government and government contractors are often wrought with complications and technicalities, this case shows they are often worth pursuing. Such matters should only be handled by experienced attorneys from well-resourced law firms that can capably prepare for a trial, if necessary. Continue reading ›

Report: Bike Week & Biketoberfest Motorcycle Deaths at Historic Low

March 30, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Every year, tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come roaring into Florida or travel from various corners of the state to attend the two biggest annual motorcycle events on the East Coast: Bike Week and Biketoberfest, both held in Daytona Beach. The former is held every spring and the latter every fall. These yearly events draw huge crowds and are great for local and state economies.

However, motorcycle accidents also spike during that time. Officials have estimated nearly 500 people have died in motorcycle accidents in Flagler and Volusia counties between 2005 and 2015, with more than one-third of those crashes involving one of the areas two big biking events. That’s according to an analysis of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted by the Daytona News-Journal. Those incidents have included:

Motorcyclists crashing into utility poles at 45 mph.
Motorcyclists drifting into oncoming traffic on S.R. 40.
Motorcyclists losing control and being thrown from their rides.

Just at the most recent Bike Week, one man died and three were injured in a Saturday crash when two motorcycles collided. The following day, a female rider was killed in another crash.

Still, there may be a silver lining in the analysis. That is that motorcycle deaths at these two massive events appear to have been at a historic low in 2015 (the last year for which final numbers are available). Continue reading ›

Florida Motorcyclist Injured by Bus Collision to Sue the City

June 27, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

It was December when the 20-year-old young man from Tallahassee had just plunked down a down payment for his first motorcycle. He had some previous experience on the bike and was ready to commit to being a responsible bike owner himself. The bike was so new, in fact, he was on his way to the insurance office to obtain coverage when the motorcycle accident happened.

According to The Tallahassee Democrat, the driver behind the wheel of that Dial-A-Ride bus pleaded no contest in connection with the crash. A judge found her guilty of failure to yield to oncoming traffic with serious bodily injury to the victim. According to records, the bus driver for the service, which offers curb-to-curb pick-up for the elderly and those with disabilities, was making a left turn when she struck the young motorcyclist.

The same day she was adjudicated in court and her license was suspended for 90 days, she was assigned to other duties at the service – but not fired. In fact, the driver has a history of preventable collisions while driving city buses – seven total going back to 1998. Among those cases, reporters noted:

Striking a Honda Civic in 2006;
Slamming into the mirror of a parked sport utility vehicle;
Rear-ending another vehicle in 2012.

Florida No. 1 for Motorcycle Fatalities

March 16, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Florida drivers can expect to see more motorcyclists on the roads this month, an estimated 500,000 motorcycle enthusiasts come rumbling into the state for Daytona Bike Week, which stretches through the first and second weeks of March.

Many of those bikers are from out-of-state, and many take the opportunity to make a longer trip of it and ride through the rest of the state. Even those who live here full-time may be traveling cross-state to attend the popular 10-day event.

It’s an opportune time to discuss the fact that motorcycle riders face unique dangers on our highways, especially because Florida has more motorcycle fatalities than anywhere else in the country. Continue reading ›

Scheiner Sponsors Cape Coral Bike Night Saturday, Feb. 13th

February 12, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Cape Coral Bike Night is coming this weekend, Saturday, Feb. 13th from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, are proud sponsors of this lively event.

Held quarterly, the first event this year takes place the day before Valentine’s Day, with the Cape Coral Parks and Recreation serving as organizers.

Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will come roaring into the Cape to enjoy raging rock and rowdy country music from live bands. They wolf down fiery food and ice cold drinks and bond with other bikers. It’s also a great opportunity to check out all the latest biker products, gear and, including helmets and other critical safety equipment. Continue reading ›

Summerhill v. Klauer – Motorcycle Accident Victim Gets New Trial

February 10, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A motorcycle accident victim will have the opportunity for a new trial after an appeals court ruled the trial judge erred in excluding certain evidence that would have been beneficial to the plaintiff.

Summerhill v. Klauer was an accident that involved a motorcyclist and a moped rider in Indiana. We explore the case here as some of the legal matters at issue are pertinent to motorcycle accident victims in Fort Myers too.

According to court records, the excluded evidence at issue was:

Plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert witness testimony;
Evidence of defendant’s dishonesty, based on a decades-old fraud conviction which he lied about under oath in these proceedings;
Plaintiff’s expert medical witness testimony as to the likelihood his injuries were result in post-traumatic arthritis in the future.