 |
Motorcycle Accidents
For motorcyclists, collisions with cars, trucks, and other large vehicles often result in catastrophic injuries and, in some cases, wrongful death. In fact, it is estimated by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration that approximately 3,000 motorcyclists are killed each year during motorcycle accidents. Often times, motorcycle accidents happen because motor vehicle drivers are unable to see the motorcyclist. Other times, accidents occur as a result of the other drivers’ negligence and failure to exercise proper caution while driving near the motorcyclist.
If you have been seriously injured on a cruiser, chopper, superbike, ATV, or other kind of motorcycle accident, or if a loved one has suffered a wrongful death in a motorcycle crash, you should consult with an experienced motorcycle injury attorney immediately. Motorcycle cases can be very complex, and, for this reason, you should choose an attorney who is familiar with Florida Motorcycle Law and who has successfully handled prior motorcycle accident cases. A qualified Gainesville motorcycle accident lawyer can help the motorcyclist recover monetary damages for their injuries, medical expenses, lost income, disabilities, and pain and suffering.
Gainesville, Florida Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
Jon D. Uman is a skilled Florida motorcycle injury attorney who has represented countless clients throughout the state of Florida. Unlike other lawyers, Mr. Uman is an avid motorcycle rider and fierce advocate of motorcyclist rights. Attorney Uman and the Uman Law Firm have handled numerous cases involving superbikes and cruisers for clients who have sustained severe injuries during road accidents. As experienced motorcycle accident attorneys, our legal team is aware of the many challenges our clients face when having to deal with large insurance companies who do not understand basic motorcycle mechanics. Jon D. Uman also understands that, because most insurance adjusters and jurors do not ride, these adjustors and jurors must be thoroughly educated about motorcycle mechanics, in general and as applied to each particular accident, to help them to overcome their ignorance and prejudice against riders and to help them better understand that, in most motorcycle accidents, it is the other driver that is at fault. They need to understand that low side falls are less dangerous than high side falls, that it is often it is more difficult to brake in a curve, and that intentionally laying a bike down is almost always better than colliding with a vehicle and being ejected. This is why we employ leading motorcycle experts to evaluate the facts surrounding our clients’ cases and further establish our clients’ credibility. At the Uman Law Firm, we remain committed to our clients and their families, and to obtaining the best possible recoveries for their motorcycle accident cases.
Recent Victories
Motorcycle Crashes
$500,000 Motorcycle Crash resulting in serious injuries
In this interesting case, our client was riding her 1979 Harley Davidson Shovelhead home from work in Pomona Park. When an oncoming vehicle suddenly turned left in front of her, our client successfully swerved around the vehicle, but was then hit by a second oncoming vehicle, causing serious injuries to her foot and lower leg which ultimately required amputation of her leg below the knee. The second driver told investigating officers that our client struck him while he sat stationary in his own lane awaiting the opportunity to turn left. Based on his statements, investigating officers decided that the accident was caused by the unknown driver of the first vehicle, which had left the scene, and could not be found. Although our client initially hired a large law firm in Tampa, Florida, that large Tampa law firm made little progress over the next year. Ultimately, that firm told our client that they could not help her because they could not find the at-fault driver. Despondent and depressed, our client turned to the Uman Law Firm.
The Uman Law Firm saw things differently and immediately undertook an aggressive reconstruction of every single detail of the crash in an effort to piece together exactly what happened. After this initial evaluation and reconstruction, the Uman Law Firm was suspicious that the second driver played a significant part in the crash, contrary to the crash report and contrary to the conclusion of the Tampa law firm. The Uman Law Firm suspected that the phantom driver and the second driver knew each other, that they were traveling together, and that the second driver did not, in fact stop in his lane, but, instead, followed the phantom driver into the turn and hit our client in her lane.
In order to prove this theory of prosecution, the Uman Law Firm dispatched Clearcapture Investigations to investigate the history, background, and relationships of the second driver and to locate and take statements from the phantom driver. Armed only with a year old description of the phantom vehicle, Clearcapture located the phantom vehicle, abandoned on property owned by the second driver. Clearcapture located the VIN and tracked it to the home of the phantom driver, who unwittingly gave our investigators his statement confirming, among other things, that the second driver, his friend, was following him to the store to buy more beer. The Uman Law Firm was able to incorporate the newly discovered information into the expert accident reconstruction to prove that the second driver, who had $500,000 insurance did, in fact, strike our client in her lane, causing her injuries.
Uman Law Firm aggressively pursued this case and the insurance company finally conceded, paying our client their policy limits of $500,000. Our client, who has since recovered, used the settlement funds to travel abroad, a lifelong dream, then return to Pomona Park and purchase her home and, of course, a new special equipped motorcycle, which she still rides every day.
$50,000 Motorcycle Crash resulting in temporary internal injuries
Our client was thrown from his sport bike when an unaware motorist turned left in front of him. As a result of the high side fall, our client’s bike was totaled. He later went to the emergency room for evaluation of side pain and internal bruising. Incredibly, the insurance company for the negligent driver later refused to compensate our client for the fair value of his bike. When he sought legal help, the Uman Law Firm was able to quickly demonstrate liability and negligence and not only recovered payment to repair the motorcycle but also secured $50,000 in damages for his pain and suffering.
$50,000 Motorcycle Crash resulting in lacerations and whiplash
A negligent driver pulled his late model sedan in front of our client’s sport bike, causing the bike to crash into the side of the sedan launching our client, a college student, up and over the car. Amazingly, our client, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered only minor whiplash and lacerations to his inner thigh. When the insurance company refused to take responsibility for the crash, refused to pay for motorcycle repairs, and refused to pay medical expenses, the sport bike enthusiast turned to Uman Law Firm for help. The insurance company then took a blame the victim approach. In an effort to deter Uman Law Firm, the insurance company claimed that our client was reckless and that post-accident video surveillance captured our client popping wheelies at high speeds. Aggressive prosecution by Uman Law Firm ultimately established that the insurance company had no such evidence and, under the threat of prosecution, the insurance company finally acquiesced to the Uman Law Firm’s demand for $50,000.
$35,000 Motorcycle Crash with ankle injury
Our client was thrown from his motorcycle when a negligent motorist turned left in front of him. The motorist tried to flee the scene before he was stopped by a witness. Then, the motorist actually tried to argue that our client was at fault for not using his bike’s headlight. As a result of the accident, our client suffered a fractured foot which later became infected. Although the insurance company disclosed that its negligent driver had only $25,000 in insurance coverage, it failed to provide Uman Law Firm a copy of the insurance policy within 30 days, blaming their delay on the Christmas holiday. As a matter of principal, Uman Law Firm thereafter refused to accept the $25,000 policy limits, thereby rejecting the contention that our client should be made to suffer and wait while insurance company representatives enjoy their holiday. The insurance company later paid for its delay, an additional $10,000 over and above the policy limits.
$17,000 Motorcycle Crash caused by under-insured off- duty sheriff’s deputy
In this interesting and ironic case, our client was riding her Harley Davidson Fat Boy in the Bikers on Parade benefit to honor veterans, law‑enforcement officers, firefighters and rescue personnel. After the parade was under well way, an off-duty Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy, who had not paid an entry fee or registered as a participant, drove his Hiabusa at high speeds on the restricted parade route, cutting in an out of the parade motorcycles, laying down rubber, and generally disrupting the parade and endangering the participants. While the parade participants tried their best to avoid the off-duty Sheriff’s deputy, the deputy eventually hit our client, causing her to lay her bike down and suffer facial lacerations, and neck and back injuries. The deputy was initially charged with the crash, but later, law enforcement officers reversed the conclusions of the investigating officer, and decided to charge our client. Luckily, the crash was witnessed by several local celebrities, including a well known talk radio host, who testified in court. Ultimately, justice was served and the insurance company for the off-duty Sheriff’s deputy paid their policy limits. The off-duty Sheriff’s deputy was demoted for sneaking into a charity event.
$10,000 Motorcycle Crash resulting in bruising and calf sprain
Our client was entering a right hand turn on his BMW sport cruiser when he was rear-ended by a negligent automobile driver. Following the accident, our client was diagnosed with chest and right calf sprains and a contusion to the chest. He came to the Uman Law Firm frustrated and in pain. The insurance company was refusing the compensate him for the motorcycle shop’s 17% mark-up for parts, even though it was the only one of seven authorized BMW repair shops in the entire state able to perform the work. The Uman Law Firm was able to recover the entire cost of repair, including the 17% mark-up, compensation for the delay caused by the insurance companies unreasonable position, and the $10,000 policy limits for pain and suffering.
Motorcycle Accident: $5.1 MILLION
In this catastrophic injury case, a negligent truck driver failed to yield when he pulled into the highway and crashed into our client.
The insurance company attorney for the negligent truck driver vigorously defended the truck driver in a variety of ways. First, the insurance company lawyer tried to blame our client by falsely alleging, among other things, that our client was exceeding the speed limit and that our client took the wrong kind of evasive action to avoid the crash. Second, the insurance company lawyer paid an insurance company doctor to testify that our client was somehow exaggerating his catastrophic injuries. Finally, and perhaps even most egregious, the insurance company lawyer argued that a technical exclusion in the insurance policy prevented any recovery by our client.
The Uman Law Firm spared no expense and retained leading experts in every scientific and medical field at issue and under contention. Working with its experts, the Uman Law Firm was able to systematically refute every defense asserted by the insurance company. The Uman Law Firm was then able to prove that the insurance company and their lawyers acted in bad faith by failing to settle for a reasonable amount when they had numerous opportunities to do so and should have done so. The case was ultimately settled for $5,100,000 on the eve of trial.
Motorcycle Crash: $1.1 MILLION (confidential settlement)
Corporate Negligence: $250,000.00
In this personal injury case, a negligent RentaCenter employee was attempting to deliver a large screen television when he allowed it to fall from the truck and strike our client.
The insurance company lawyer vigorously defended RentaCenter by arguing that our client was somehow at fault by standing too close to the delivery truck. The insurance company lawyer also argued that our client was faking or exaggerating his injuries and that any injuries he suffered were the result of a prior accident.
During litigation, the insurance company lawyers refused to comply with the rules of procedure and refused to provide responses to requests for documentation of the repairs to the truck and documentation of employees who would be witnesses to the truck repairs or to the accident. The Uman Law Firm undertook an intense and large scale investigation and were ultimately able to prove that 1) the hydraulic lift on the Rentacenter truck was broken causing it to stick when lowering; 2) The Tommy Lift company required that all repairs be performed with Tommy Lift parts and in accordance with Tommy Lift specifications; 3) RentaCenter management attempted to rig the lift rather than repair it properly; 4) RentaCenter management refused to fix the hydraulic lift until it met certain sales quotas; 5) In order to save money, RentaCenter would often send only one delivery person to deliver large items that required two or more people; 6) RentaCenter employees were worried that the broken hydraulic lift and under-staffing created a dangerous condition and complained to management; 7) RentaCenter employees who complained were demoted or fired; and 8) When our client suffered the injury, RentaCenter management went to the hospital and attempted to convince him to leave the hospital.
Once RentaCenter learned that Uman Law Firm had the evidence and ability to recover not only compensatory, but punitive damages, RentaCenter chose to pay $250,000 rather than proceed to trial.
Automobile Crash: $175,000.00
In this automobile negligence case, our client was rear-ended by an Alamo Rental vehicle driven by a Saudi Arabian national. After the crash, our client was involved in a roll over accident in which he was at fault. Several months later, our client underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck. With the help of medical experts, the Uman Law Firm was able to prove that it was the Alamo crash, not the intervening crash, that caused the neck injuries and our client ultimately received $175,000 from Alamo.
Automobile Crash: $100,000.00
In this automobile negligence case, the negligent driver was traveling at between 5 and 10 miles per hour, slowing for traffic ahead, when she struck our client. Uman Law Firm was able to relate the injuries to the low impact and recover the policy limits of $100,000 for our client.
Wrongful Death
Log Truck Crash: $300,000.00
In this terribly sad case, our client's son was killed when he failed to yield, ran a stop light, entered the highway, and was struck by a log truck. Although our client's son was clearly at fault in the accident, our investigation led to some interesting evidence: First, it was very foggy at the time of the crash and visibility was poor. Second, the log truck was slightly overloaded. Third, despite knowing for some time that the brakes on two of the wheels of the log truck were defective, the company that owned the log truck had not taken any steps to repair those brakes. From both the physical evidence at the scene and testimony from the driver of the log truck, Uman Law Firm's accident reconstruction expert was able to determine that the log truck driver was exceeding the speed limit in the fog. Our expert further concluded that both the negligence of the truck driver (speeding in the fog) and the negligence of the owner of the truck (failing to maintain the brakes) contributed to the severity of the crash. In other words, our accident reconstruction expert was prepared to testify at trial that the log truck driver should have been able to mitigate the impact and may have been able to avoid the crash altogether, had he been driving prudently and with proper equipment.
Confronted with this theory of prosecution, the insurance company for the log truck paid their entire $300,000 policy limits.
Medical Malpractice
Failure to administer antibiotics: $680,000.00
In this medical malpractice case, our client was clamming in the Indian River Lagoon, a somewhat polluted body of water, containing various forms of bacteria, when his lower Achilles heel was punctured by an unknown object, most likely a sting-ray.
Because anaerobic bacteria thrive in oxygen depleted environments, the appropriate standard of care under the circumstances in this case would have required the emergency room doctor to thoroughly clean and irrigate the wound, then leave the wound open to prevent the growth of any possible bacteria. Unfortunately, the emergency room doctor chose to suture the wound closed. To make matters even worse, and despite our client's repeated requests, the emergency room doctor refused to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics. By failing to leave the tiny wound open and by failing or otherwise refusing to administer antibiotics, the emergency room doctor created an environment in which the bacteria could flourish. Within 8 hours of this clear medical malpractice, necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh eating bacteria, had consumed a large part of the soft tissue in our client's foot and calf.
As a result, our client was forced to undergo painful hyper-baric chamber treatments and several reparative surgeries. Although he recovered quite well, he suffered some permanent damage to his foot that made running impossible and walking somewhat tedious. difficult. Working with a variety of experts, Uman Law Firm was able to obtain $680,000 in compensatory damages for our client.
Failure to remove foreign object: $170,000
This case is a clear example of an insurance company's refusal to acknowledge fault and do the right thing. Our client, a day-worker, presented to the emergency room after receiving a stab wound in his chest and a resulting pneumothorax. The cardio-thoracic surgeon on call cleaned and closed the stab wound and inserted a chest tube. Unfortunately, during this procedure, a 4x2 surgical sponge was left inside our client's chest. X-rays taken during our client's two day hospital stay revealed a Asuspicious@ radio-opaque object. The treating cardio-thoracic surgeon did not review the radiology report.
In a follow-up visit several weeks later, our client complained that he felt something strange in his chest. The doctor dismissed his complaints but never reviewed the old x-rays or ordered new x-rays. Our client returned two more times over the next year with complaints of discomfort in his chest and the doctor again dismissed his complaints without further investigation.
Our client returned to the emergency room nearly a year later when his chest swelled up to the size of a grapefruit and began to break open. Emergency room physicians located and removed the sponge, together with copious amounts of infectious tissue and purulent drainage.
Although he was clearly upset about what he had endured, our client did not want to sue the doctor. Instead, he thought it would be fair to try and settle out of court for a modest amount. The Uman Law Firm agreed to offer to settle for $5,000 and take no attorney fee or costs. When the insurance company refused to make any offer, we were left with no choice but to file suit. Thereafter, the insurance company played hardball and hired numerous Aexperts@ to surmise all of the different ways that a sponge could have gotten into our client's chest, even suggesting at one point that our client might have re-opened his own wound and shoved the sponge in himself to generate a lawsuit. The insurance company's surreal theory of defense failed to take into consideration, however, the x-ray that showed a foreign body shortly after surgery. Instead, the insurance company attempted to deter continued prosecution of the suit by driving litigation expenses ridiculously high. The Uman Law Firm was not deterred and kept pace with the insurance company, dollar for dollar.
At trial two years later, the Uman Law Firm asked the jury for a fair and reasonable verdict as compensation. Angry at the insurance company antics, the jury awarded five times the amount requested.
Contact our Gainesville Motorcycle Accident Attorneys today!
The Motorcycle Accident Attorneys at the Uman Law Firm provide legal representation to clients located throughout north and central Florida, including: Gainesville, Alachua County, Baker County, Bradford County, Union County, Levy County, Gilchrist County, Dixie County, Palatka, Putnam County, St. Johns County, Ocala, Marion County, Lake County, Tallahassee, Leon County, Jacksonville, Duval County, Orlando, Orange County, Osceola County.
|
|
