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Many servicemen and servicewomen ride motorcycles in Hampton Roads. Sadly some of them come to grief on our busy highways through no fault of their own.
Recently a lawsuit was filed against a company whose van driver changed lanes and knocked a sailor off his motorcycle on Interstate 64 in Norfolk, killing the rider.
All cases are unique and different and we cannot guarantee the result of any case, but a wrongful death settlement of $3.7 million was reached.
A report in Virginia Lawyers Weekly stated a Navy Petty Officer First Class was riding his motorcycle on I-64 when the van driver changed lanes into his path.
The 30-year-old sailor was knocked off his motorcycle and then run over by the van. Drivers stopped at the scene to help the rider but he had sustained many injuries to his skull, arms and chest. He died at the accident scene, the report stated.
The Virginia Lawyers Weekly report stated the van driver’s employer initially tried to suggest the rider was weaving in and out of traffic. The claim was undermined by witness statements. People who saw the fatal wreck said the van driver changed lanes into the path of the motorcyclist.
The sailor lived in Georgia. He was planning to marry his fiancé just two days after he lost his life. He was a father of a 6-month-old son and a 13-year-old daughter at the time of his death.
The sailor was represented by attorneys Carlton Bennett, Kevin Sharp and John Zydron of Virginia Beach.
It’s always tragic to hear about the death of a young man who served his country. The case highlights the vulnerability of motorcyclists on the fast-moving highways of Hampton Roads.
If a van hits you when you are in a car or a pickup, the metal frame of the vehicle affords you a degree of protection. If you were hit and knocked off a motorcycle and are lying in the road, you are extremely vulnerable.
On our website, we highlight the severe injuries often suffered by motorcyclists in Virginia. A motorcycle crash is almost 40 times as likely to be fatal as a crash in another kind of vehicle. If you survive a crash on a motorbike, you may be so seriously injured, you will need to recover the most you can.
Our Virginia motorcycle accident team can be contacted at (757) 455-0077.
John Cooper