In the Spring of 2007, our client was riding his motorcycle home from work in Fairfax, Virginia. He was driving on a residential street following another car as they approached a curve in the road, where another car was attempting to enter the roadway. While the other driver yielded to the car in front of our client, he did not appreciate the fact that a motorcycle was following that car, and as a result he pulled into traffic directly in front our client, and his motorcycle.

The impact between the car and the motorcycle was severe. Our client was an expert motorcycle mechanic, and had customized his bike to a large degree. Unfortunately, the motorcycle was totaled. Worse was the fact that despite wearing all the required safety equipment available, our client broke his forearm and required surgery. The surgery entailed a metal plate and screws to hold together the unstable fracture. After a number of months the plate and screws were removed, and our client after months of therapy, and two surgeries had finally reached maximum medical improvement. The treating orthopedic surgeon provided our client a 5% permanent partial disability rating. With approximately $23,000 in medical expenses, a 5% permanent partial disability, and approximately $10,000 in lost wages we were able to settle this matter to the satisfaction of our client.

The main issue in this case was the apparent inability of the defendant to appreciate the fact that there was motorcycle approaching him. This is one of the largest factors contributing to motorcycle accidents. Unless people begin to recognize that we share the road with motorcycles, there will undoubtedly be a continued increase in motorcycle accidents in Virginia.