Court Decision in Fatal Accident between Motorcycle and Tractor Trailer Truck
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District issued an important decision in MAYRA DIAZ v FEDEX FREIGHT EAST, INC., ET AL., This accident between a Truck and a Motorcycle (Bike) sadly caused the untimely death of a young man.
KEY FACTS: The accident occurred at the intersection of Hangar Road and Heintzelman Boulevard in Orlando, Florida, when the decedent, Yuniel Avila Diaz, drove his motorcycle into the side of the tractor trailer driven by Vincent Jackson. When the crash occurred, Jackson was crossing the two southbound lanes of Heintzelman in order to make a left-hand turn. He was at a complete stop in the median and had cleared one of the two southbound lanes. The decedent was traveling between fifty-nine to seventy-nine miles per hour at the time of the crash, well above the posted speed limit of forty-five miles per hour, and could have avoided the accident had he not been speeding.
Editors Note: If you are injured as a result of a Tractor Trailer, Semi Truck, Car Crash or Motorcycle Accident Accident in Massachusetts (Mass.) or Rhode Island RI, Please contact Rhode Island and MA Personal Injury Lawyer, David Slepkow 401-437-1100. David is a member of the Bar for Mass. and RI, as well as the United States Supreme Court. David also has a superb AVVO rating.
Decision of Court: As a general rule, a jury should not be informed of an investigating officer s determination of who caused an accident and who was cited.
Motorcycle Crash-Related Data : www.cdc.gov/features/dsMotorcycleSafety/
Court Reasoning: Although the evidence was undisputed that the decedent was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the accident, and that the accident could have been avoided had decedent been driving the speed limit, there was disputed evidence as to whether or not Jackson failed to stop at the stop sign and whether this contributed to the accident. Detective Felshaw s testimony that he did not feel there was any fault on the part of Jackson was especially critical, given the conflict in the evidence, because his testimony effectively eliminated the issue of comparative negligence from the jury s consideration. Accordingly, we find the trial judge s curative instruction, though well intended, was insufficient to cure the prejudice. The error was not harmless and Appellant is entitled to a new trial.
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Motorcycle safety: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety
Deadly motorcycle accident statistics www.examiner.com/article/deadly-motorcycle-accident-statistics
Motorcycle Accident Wrongful Death: www.representyou.com/personal-injury/motorcycle-accident/motorcycle-accident-wrongful-death/
Tags: Mass Bike Crash lawyer , Massachusetts Motorcycle Accident Attorney