GMR Partner, Jeffrey Tenthoff, won a Philadelphia trial arising from a dirt bike and SUV collision on Frankford Ave. Jeff’s client was turning left into a McDonald’s when she struck the side of the plaintiff’s dirt bike as he was driving on the shoulder of Frankford Ave. It was dark and raining, and the plaintiff’s dirt bike did not have a headlight or reflective devices. Plaintiff broke his hip and two pelvic bones requiring three surgeries, and fractured his left wrist, left elbow, and two ribs, including a punctured lung. Plaintiff also had $55,000 stipulated to economic damages for medical expenses and six months of missed work.
Plaintiff argued that Defendant had to yield the right of way to the plaintiff before making her left turn. Jeff argued you do not have the right of way if you have no right to be on the road in the first place, and even if he did, it was not unreasonable under these conditions that his client failed to see him. The jury was out for about 1 ½ hours before returning a defense verdict on liability; they found Defendant was not negligent, and they never got to the issue of comparative negligence.
