$1,527,000 Settlement for Fatal Motorcycle Accident

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A wrongful death lawsuit based on a dangerous condition of public property resulted in the widow and children of a motorcycle accident victim settling their cases at a mediation hearing.

The lawsuit was filed against a City in the Coachella Valley based on allegations against the City for maintaining a "dead end" street in the City that didn't have any warning signs posted advising motorists that the street was not a through street. There was also a dirt mound located at the ending of the street which caused the motorcycle rider to be launched off the top of the mound when his motorcycle climbed the mound, causing the rider and bike to fly through the air, resulting in the rider striking the ground and dying at the accident scene. Unfortunately for the rider, he was not wearing a DOT approved helmet, but was instead wearing a "novelty" helmet that the defendants argued contributed to his death.

The City argued that the motorcycle didn't have working rear brakes and the rider was wearing dark nonprescription glasses at the time of the accident, which caused the rider not to see that the road ended and that there was a mound at the end of the road. The accident happened at night.

This lawsuit was also filed against the property owners surrounding the dirt mound at the end of the road for allegedly creating the dirt mount which itself resulted in a dangerous condition of property.