Articles Posted in Motorcycle Accident

The following blog entry is written from a defendant’s position after a jury trial verdict for plaintiff. Reviewing this kind of briefing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in a personal injury case present such issues to the court.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this motorcycle accident/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

Defendant Larry Brown submits the following Memorandum of Points and Authorities is support of his Motion for New Trial or, in the alternative, Remittitur:

INTRODUCTION

A new trial is warranted due to the imposition of excessive damages that were unsupported by the evidence. In the interests of justice, Mr. Brown’s motion for new trial or in the alternative, a reduction in damages must be granted.

BACKGROUND

This action arises out of an automobile versus motorcycle accident which occurred at 8:35 p.m. at the intersection of High Street and Eisenhower Boulevard in Sacramento, California on June 12, 2005. Plaintiff was operation the intersection with Eisenhower. As plaintiff entered the intersection, he collided with the 2004 Mercedes E320 driven by defendant, Larry Brown, who was turning left from southbound High Street onto eastbound Eisenhower.

The matter proceeded to trial on February 2, 2008. Plaintiff testified at trial that following the accident with Mr. Brown, plaintiff stood up and walked over to the curb. When he got to the curb, he sat down and felt pain in his back, as well as pain and weakness in his left leg.

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Stanley Franklin Spaeth Jr. of south Sacramento was killed Saturday night after a suspected drunken driver struck his motorcycle as he rode home from work– his second job, one that family members said he took to pay for his oldest daughter’s upcoming tuition – and sent his body hurtling through the air.

Officers arrested Rebecca Vela, a 33-year-old Sacramento woman, and booked her into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges of murder, driving under the influence, and hit and run, according to Elk Grove police. If convicted, court records show it will be Vela’s fourth drunken driving offense since 1994.

The accident occurred about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, as Spaeth was northbound on East Stockton Boulevard, said Elk Grove Police Officer Chris Trim. Vela, driving alone in her 1997 Acura TL, was northbound on the same street at a “high rate of speed” and rear-ended Spaeth’s motorcycle, Trim said.

Spaeth was thrown from his motorcycle and suffered fatal injuries. He was 54.

“He was killed instantly,” Schulzke said. “He had no opportunity to react defensively.”

Trim said officers initially booked Vela on suspicion of murder and drunken driving, but the District Attorney’s Office added the hit-and-run charge because she was “actively trying to leave” when officers arrived at the scene.

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A 35-year-old Orangevale man died Wednesday afternoon, April 1, on Hazel Avenue after his motorcycle hit a car, California Highway Patrol officials said. The man, whose identity was withheld pending notification of next of kin, was driving a Kawasaki ZX6R southbound at an “extreme high rate of speed” near Lake Nimbus Drive at about 4:15 p.m., according to a CHP news release.

At the same time, a 68-year-old woman from Fair Oaks was turning left onto Lake Nimbus Drive, the CHP said. The motorcyclist hit the right side of her car and was thrown from his bike, the CHP said. He was taken by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.

The woman was knocked unconscious by the impact and her car rolled down Lake Nimbus Drive for several hundred feet until a citizen helped stop it, the CHP said.

Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the crash, the CHP said. The motorcylist was negligent by the mere fact of his high rate of speed.

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I have been riding for years and I take pride in my rider skill level. I do all of the right stuff, all of the time. I wear a helmet. I maintain a buffer zone around me, never riding side by side with any cars and so on.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning as I rode along Auburn Boulevard here in Sacramento, California. This stretch of Auburn Boulevard is four lanes, two in each direction, posted speed limit 35 mph, and the road is tree lined residential with businesses and apartments dotting the roadside.

My Harley was running great; the air was warm and sweet with the summer smells of gardens and pine. I was in the left lane doing about 40 mph with a slower car on my right side in the slow lane. I had seen this car from about a half mile behind and it was riding along straight and true, no problem. I intended to just continue on past it and continue my ride.

Without warning, another can changed lanes from the slow lane into my lane. It was doing 50 or 55 mph and never hesitated as it roared into my right side.

The way accidents happen on a motorcycle is that they happen right now. I mean right now! You make a decision and go with it right now. Making no decision or a slow decision is not an option.

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Anthony James Payne, 23, was thrown 200 feet as a result of a head-on collision between his Honda motorcycle and a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am car. It was after 7:45 PM on Thursday evening, August 14th on Carson Road in Camino. Carson Road is a secondary road that parallels HWY 50 about five miles east of Placerville on the road from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe.

When a 388 pound motorcycle (Honda 1000) hits a 3,066 pound 2004 Pontiac Grand Am, head-on, at speed, the end result is a predictable tragedy. The motorcycle rider is dead and the young age of 23. The driver of the car, Melissa Nicole Nichols, 23, survived the crash and was booked into El Dorado County Jail on Friday (08-15-08) on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.

The suspicion of vehicular manslaughter charge means that the police suspect that this crash was not just a horrific accident, but a horrific accident that could have been prevented.

I don’t think I can’t tell you enough how dangerous I think motorcycles are. Each time and every time I see one driving down the Sacramento freeway, I am just waiting for a horrible accident to happen. I can’t help it. Before you start thinking I am being overzealous please hear me through the end.

I was reading an article today on the media that confirmed this dread in me regarding motorcycles. In Irvine, Ca, a man on a motorcycle was changing lanes when his handlebar hit a tractor-trailer next to him. A small bump was all it took. His motorcycle swiftly swerved into and bounced off of a Mercedes-Benz, sending him back toward the tractor-trailer, which then ran over the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Trust me, I know how much fun it would be to have the air in your hair, the freedom of the ride, the roar of the engine beneath your legs, but stories like this will always prevent me from riding a motorcycle. I witness the grief these types of accidents bring to families on a daily basis, at our law offices.