As you know, recently I did a video on motorcycle accidents. I mentioned that motorcycle victims often suffer catastrophic injuries because they do not have the protection that a car provides.
Today I saw that a Philadelphia jury awarded $3.1 million in a wrongful death and survival damages case to the estate of a motorcycle driver killed in a 2013 accident.
One of the issues in the case was who was responsible for the accident.
It was an intersection collision.
The motorcycle driver was going through a green light when he was struck by the defendant’s automobile.
The defendant made a left turn against traffic and hit the motorcycle victim causing his death.
So what did the insurance company for the defendant do under these facts?
They rolled the dice betting on the public’s negative perception of motorcycle drivers.
Instead of looking at the facts and acknowledging their client the defendant was at fault.
Bad choice.
Why?
Because not only did they get hit with a $3.1 million jury award against them, but they also opened themselves up to a bad faith claim for their actions in this case.
As I have said in prior blogs, in a bad faith case, the sky is the limit.
Suppose the defendant’s insurance policy limits were $100,000.
American Independent insurance company the insurance company for the negligent driver could have avoided this $3.1 million verdict by simply tendering the hundred thousand dollar limit of their policy.
Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident, product liability and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully hopes you understand that rolling the dice and going to trial is a gamble not only for the victims in a case, but also for the insurance company for the defendants.
This time they gambled and lost.
I applaud the victims attorney for excellent representation in this case.
Check out the article below on the motorcycle jury award.
A Philadelphia jury has handed up an award of $3.1 million in wrongful death and survival act damages to the estate of a motorcycle driver who died after a 2013 collision.
After a five-day trial, an eight-member jury in Partlow v. Gray found defendant Kahlile Gray negligently caused the death of Calvin M. Wilson Jr., 27. It awarded $1.85 million in survival act damages and $1.25 million in wrongful death damages to his estate.
“The verdict was a fair verdict and it was a verdict that American Independent Insurance Co. should have anticipated two and a half years ago,” David L. Woloshin of Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel said. Woloshin tried the case with Dina Ronsayro and Jordan Schlossberg of the same firm.
Woloshin said they plan to file a bad faith claim against American Independent Insurance Co., Gray’s insurer, for not settling the case earlier.
According to the plaintiff’s pre-trial memorandum, Wilson was driving his motorcycle straight through a green light on Belmont Avenue in Philadelphia on April 4, 2013, when Gray made a left turn against traffic and struck Wilson. The collision threw Wilson from his motorcycle, the memo said. He was transported to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, and pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Thanks for reading.
Bernie the attorney.