Injury Law Center® Obtains Favorable Settlement in Highly Contested Motorcycle Collision Case

NASHUA, N.H., Nov. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Injury Law Center is pleased to announce a favorable settlement in highly contested motorcycle collision case. The matter was settled in Belknap Superior Court under docket number 211-2015-CV-00180 during the final pre-trial conference just days before jury selection.

The case involved a motorcyclist who was not wearing a helmet. As he was coming over the crest of a hill, he suddenly observed the defendant's vehicle coming at him from the opposite direction in the middle of the road. Our client, who had only had a split second to react, jerked his handlebars to avoid a head-on collision, causing him to be thrown from his motorcycle. He sustained lacerations to his head and a suffered a mild traumatic brain injury.

"Our client came to us after another attorney rejected his case," commented New Hampshire personal injury attorney Joe Russo. "The police report was totally against him. The defendant wasn't even listed as a party to the crash – he was listed as an eyewitness. The odds were against us, but we believed in our client and felt obligated to see that justice was done."

Mr. Russo went on to state: "What really cracked the case open was when our team obtained the 9-1-1 call made by the defendant's passenger who admitted in an excited utterance (NH Rules of Evidence 803(2)) that his friend swerved to avoid hitting our client. Then we had to track down the defendant, who gave a fake address to the police, with the help of a private investigator and ostensibly drag him into court. For the last two years, he must have thought that he had gotten away with this."

Every aspect of this case was contested and no offer was made up until the tail end of litigation. This case presented a multitude of complex legal issues that were extensively briefed. One interesting issue that was addressed was whether our client's failure to wear a helmet constitutes comparative negligence and/or a failure to mitigate damages – the rationale being that the plaintiff's head injury wouldn't have been as severe had he been wearing a helmet.

However, in New Hampshire, motorcyclists over the age of 18 are not required to wear protective headgear pursuant to RSA 265:122. The New Hampshire Supreme Court has not ruled on this issue in the context of helmets, but they have in the context of seatbelts. The seminal case is Thibeault v. Campbell, 136, NH 698, 702 (1993), which precludes a defendant from arguing that a motorists' failure to wear a seatbelt constitutes comparative fault or a failure to mitigate damages.

In closure, Attorney Russo stated, "I am so proud of this particular client. Everyone tried to silence him – including the police. But he summoned a great deal of courage to stand up for his rights. It is a privilege to represent clients like him."

Injury Law Center is a New Hampshire-based personal injury law firm serving clients throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The firm handles the full range of personal injury cases, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, workers' compensation, wrongful death, and more. To learn more about the types of cases the firm handles and to schedule a complimentary legal consultation, please visit www.injury-law-center.com or call (603) 266-5046.

SOURCE Injury Law Center

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