A Californian rider has been awarded a $US21.5m (about $A31.5m) payout for injuries suffered when a Kia Optima illegally left the carpool lane and jettisoned his bike across three lanes into a truck.
The fiery crash in February 2018 left rider Matthew Rada with “catastrophic” injuries that ended his career as a graphic artist.
GoPro video from another rider was used as evidence in the LA Court.
The verdict against the driver and his employer may yet be appealed.
However, it dwarfs a payout earlier this year to a North Carolina Harley rider.
He was awarded $US4m (almost $A6m) after a crash with a driver who failed to yield right-of-way.
The 29-year-old rider was travelling about 15mph (about 24km/h) when he was struck by a vehicle that accelerated away from a stop sign without seeing the motorcycle.
America is renowned for its excessive compensation payouts, mainly due to high medical costs.
According to a study by US Jury Verdict Research, theaverage motorcycle accident verdict is about $A560,000 and the median verdict award just over $US70,000.
Crash payout
In Australia, payouts for motor vehicle crashes are a lot less and rarely over $1m.
Compensation can be determined by a number of factors.
They include physical and mental injuries, the rider’s age, hospital expenses, on-going medical costs, pain and suffering, motorcycle damage and loss of earnings.
(Contributed post: Making sure you are properly compensated for motorcycle accident injuries)
Sadly, accidents are something that a lot of motorbike riders experience. There is no doubt that you are more vulnerable than a car driver is. Figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) demonstrate this. In the USA, 13 car drivers die per 100,000 vehicles. For motorcyclists, that figure shoots up to 72 per 100,000 bikes on the road. So, your chance of having an accident while out riding is quite high. That means you need to be ready for that eventuality.
Be prepared to fight for the right level of compensation for your injuries
If you are injured, you will probably have to fight hard to get the right level of compensation. Don’t let anyone tell you are not entitled to proper compensation. Regardless of whether you have a motorcycle and car accident with a suspended license the cost of treating your injuries should still be covered by insurance.
Of course, you should not be driving or riding without a valid license. So, you may be fined or prosecuted for doing that. But, the fact that you are breaking the law, in this way, does not mean you are not entitled to full compensation.
You will likely need the services of a personal injury lawyer
The fact that riders are so much more exposed than car drivers means that they tend to sustain more serious injuries. So, the cost of treating their injuries is typically higher than average.
Unfortunately, the amount insurance companies will pay for bodily injuries is limited. Often, those limits are too low to cover the full cost of treatment for serious injuries and the disabilities that can arise from them. This means that you will possibly have to sue the driver or another rider. To do this successfully is extremely difficult without a lawyer.
Gather as much evidence as possible
If your injuries allow, gather evidence at the scene. Video and photos are especially useful. Getting everyone’s contact details will help too.
In the USA, the police should be called to the scene of an accident where someone is injured or killed. Co-operate with the officer, but, be careful not to admit blame.
You will likely be in shock. So, the chances are you will not remember everything anyway. Later, you can sit down and write down what you think happened. Over the course of the next few days, you will probably remember more and be able to fill in any missing pieces.
Keep an accident journal
Make what happened during the incident your first entry in an accident journal. Each day, write down what happens. For example, who you spoke to and what was said.
Clip copies of any correspondence to the relevant page of the journal. This in-depth journal will help your lawyer to build a stronger case for you. Some of the templates on this page will help you with putting together a good accident journal.
Keep your clothing
Keep the clothing you were wearing when you came off your bike. On occasion, this can be used as evidence.
Doing the above will help you to receive a better level of compensation after a motorcycle accident. But, don’t forget to do the basics like report the incident to your insurance company and the DMV.
A North Carolina Harley rider has been awarded $US4m (almost $A6m) after a crash with a driver who failed to yield right-of-way in what is believed to be the world’s biggest motorcycle crash payout.
The 29-year-old rider was travelling about 15mph (about 24km/h) when he was struck by a vehicle that accelerated away from a stop sign without seeing the motorcycle.
America is renowned for its excessive compensation payouts, mainly due to high medical costs.
According to a study by US Jury Verdict Research, theaverage motorcycle accident verdict is about $A560,000 and the median verdict award just over $US70,000.
Crash payout
In Australia, payouts for motor vehicle crashes are a lot less and rarely over $1m.
In July this year, NSW lawyers Gerard Malouf and Partners secured a personal injury about of $800,000 for a motorcycle rider after a crash.
The claim not only included rider’s injuries, but also the pain and suffering of his family.
In the North Carolina case, Attorney Mark Jetton of Jetton & Meredith lawyers claimed for physical injuries, medical expenses and lost wages.
The young rider needed to be airlifted to hospital where he spent six days and now requires on-going therapy and medication.
Compensation claims
Compensation can be determined by a number of factors, such as physical and mental injuries, the rider’s age, hospital expenses, on-going medical costs, pain and suffering, motorcycle damage and loss of earnings.
A council’s failure to fix thin bitumen in parking bays that caused a parked motorcycle to fall over could cost them if other bikes suffer the same fate.
Toowoomba tiding trainer Tony Gallagher says although council has dodged paying him compensation, they are now aware of the problem and may not be able to dodge other similar future claims.
Tony told us in June that he watched as his parked 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R sank into thin bitumen and fall over in Crows Nest’s main street parking bays.
Despite offering to do the repairs himself at a moderate cost, Toowoomba Regional Council insurance officer Josie Hooper told him council is not liable for compensation.
Her letters says their investigations found that council was unaware of “the specific characteristic of the road and/or car park you say caused the damage to the motorcycle”.
“Under Section 37 of the Civil Liability Act, a road authority such as Council cannot be held liable for claims that arise out of alleged lack of maintenance, repair, or inspection of a road if, at the time of the damage, the road authority was unaware of the defect which allegedly caused the damage,” she wrote in an official letter to Tony two months after his complaint.
Now Tony has taken to Facebook to publish a video railing against council’s “corruption” and lack of accountability.
Parkings not fixed
In the eight-minute video, Tony points out that although the hole has been patched, council has not done anything to rectify the problem of the thin bitumen in the parking bays.
He says that now council is “fully aware” of the problem they will be liable to pay compensation to any rider who suffers the same fate.
Tony says council needs to take more responsibility for their facilities.
“It is not unreasonable to be able to park your motorcycle safely in a town that is motorcycle friendly,” he says.
Crows Nest Motorcycle Friendly Town spokesman Ron Anderson told us he is not aware of any other motorcycles falling over in parking bays in town.
Fall from grace
Tony Gallagher
“The bike was parked for at least 10 minutes, maybe 15, before falling over. I saw it fall over,” Tony told us in June.
“The bitumen beneath the sidestand failed and the stand sunk into the ground several inches.”
He says witnesses can prove his bike did not roll off the stand and was parked facing uphill.
Tony contacted council who patched the hole before he left town on the day.
Patch repair
“The staff member who did the repair apologised to me,” Tony says.
“I would argue that they could have reasonably known that there was a fault with the road surface as there have been issues with the adjoining footpath and kerbing.
“As TRC are fully aware of these issues, the quality of the road surface where vehicles park should have been investigated and rectified prior to this incident. As such TRC have breached their duty of care.
“I went back the following Monday on my GPZ and noticed parking bays further up the hill are decaying — not obvious in the park I was in.”
The incident occurred on a mild April day, so there was no problem with melting tar.
He returned to the site in June and said there was moisture coming from the patched repair.
Tony says the bitumen is about 10mm thick with mud underneath and suspects an underground water problem.
Many riders put down a squashed soft drink can or some other sort of “puck-style” item for their stand on soft ground.
However, riders would not reasonably be expected to use one on an asphalt surface.
TRC says riders can report road damage to Customer Service on 131 872. Customer Service will create a ticket in the system to have the incident investigated by the relevant team in Council.
Riders injured in single-vehicle, no-fault crashes may be failing to make compensation claims for fear of facing negligent riding charges, Motorcycle Council of NSW Chairman Steve Pearce says.
NSW has moved to a no-fault system for CTP compensation which was expected to lead to an increase in compensation claims.
However, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority says payouts and claims are 40% lower than projected.
“We expected a lot more compensation claims to come through, but they haven’t,” Steve says.
“I’m not sure why, but I can guess that riders are opting not to claim.
“For example, if you were in a single-vehicle no-fault crash such as hitting a pothole, you would have to report that incident at a police station and make a report to make a claim.
“The concern is that the report could trigger a negligent driving charge which most riders would want to avoid.
“So they probable limp around and get their bike repaired and avoid having the police involved.
Brydens Lawyers Principal Lee Hagipantelis says the Motor Accident Injuries Act introduced by the NSW Liberal Government on 1 December 2017 is “a disgrace”.
He says injured motorists are denied proper compensation for their injuries.
The NSW Labor opposition has promised a review of the motor accident and workers compensation schemes.
Les says he has no doubt that a review would “disclose the inequity in the scheme”.
“When the scheme was introduced the Minister responsible, Mr Victor Dominello, asserted that 55 cents in every dollar of Greenslip premium paid would be returned to injured motorists,” Lee says.
“This is not happening.
“This scheme only serves the interests of the insurance companies in ensuring the continuation of their super profits subsidised by the pain and suffering of the injured motorist.”
