Articles Posted in Motorcycle Accidents

So what do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?

The good news came out just the other day from the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) about Motorcycle deaths in Central New York and, in fact, all over the nation. For more than a decade, motorcycle accident deaths had been climbing steadily, year after year. Then suddenly, in 2009, motorcycle deaths plummeted throughout the U.S by a total of 16%, which saved a total of 530 lives. The highest motorcycle accident death toll ever was the prior year, 2008, which took 5,290 lives.

Why? To what do the experts attribute such a dramatic decline? Are motorists finally SEEING motorcycles? Are motorcycle safety campaigns finally working? Are bikes just safer?

In my last post, I neglected to note another Central New York motorcycle accident his weekend. A Madison County motorcyclist was killed in the evening of April 3 at about 6:30 when he crashed on Gorge Road, part of Route 13, in Cazenovia,. He failed to handle a curve, crossed the road, struck some guiderails and was ejected. He died later at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. He was riding with other bikers. Again, this Central New York motorcycle fatality happened in broad daylight in beautiful spring weather. Don’t assume the good weather makes driving safer. It can make it more dangerous if you let down your guard.

Wow. What a bad weekend for motor vehicle collisions this beautiful Easter weekend in Central New York State.

First, in the morning of April 3, a Yates County New York car driver died, and his passenger, an Oswego county New York man, was seriously injured, when their vehicle drifted off the Thruway and flipped onto its side near Elbridge, New York. It appears the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Then, later that same day, in the evening, at about 6 p.m., a Central New York motorcyclist accident took place when a motorcycle hit a traffic island on State Route 3 near Oneida Street in Fulton. The biker was thrown from his bike and suffered back, chest and head injuries.

A recent motorcycle accident in Farmington, Ontario County, New York provides food for legal thought. The Geneva Finger Lakes Times reports that on Monday a motorcyclist, James W. Evans of Victor, drove his motorcycle into the rear of a van that was attempting to make a left-hand turn into a driveway. The motorcycle driver was charged and arraigned on both DWI charges and for not having a valid license. The Finger Lakes Times reports that a passenger on the motorcycle sustained serious physical injuries from the accident.

Here’s our legal query: What are Evans’ passenger’s legal rights to compensation for her injuries? Since the van driver was not at-fault, and Evans clearly was, she must look to suing Evans for his negligent, and drunk, operation of the motorcycle. Surely he is liable to her and, if he had liability insurance on his bike (not likely since he was driving it without a license), she can look to his insurance for compensation for her pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses and other loses.

If she brings such a claim, though, she can expect Evans’ motorcycle accident lawyer to argue that she herself was at least somewhat to blame for her own injuries because she assumed the risk of climbing on a motorcycle with an intoxicated driver. Whether this argument prevails (and it usually doesn’t) will depend in large part on what the passenger knew about Evans’ alcohol consumption that day. Was she drinking with him? Did she see how much he drank? Or did he merely pick her up after he had already been drinking? Did he look or act drunk? In sum, did she or did she not know or suspect that he was intoxicated? If a jury decides to blame her somewhat, her case will not get “nixed”. Instead, the judge will instruct the jury to “apportion” the blame between her and Evans. For example, if the jury determines that her injuries should be compensated to the tune of $1 Million, but the jury says she was 30% responsible and Evans 70% responsible, then she will get a verdict of 70% of $1 Million, that is, $700,000.