$1 million awarded to MB rider/ fender failure

O

oologah

New Member
Local time
3:17 PM
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
26
Location
Oklahoma
Owasso, Oklahoman Grady Wicklund awarded $1 MIL.
I learned this after going to a bike shop in Claremore, OK today. I asked the owner if they would build me a rear wheel when she told me that they wouldn't touch anything that would go on a MB. Then she told me of this lawsuit. I don't blame her at all.
Took my fenders off, well the one that didn't come off an wack me in the back. We all know the vibration will cause thin metal to fracture and fail. I think this is a black eye for responsible riders who maintain their bikes. That's my opinion for what it's worth.
 
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/arti...icleid=20100624_11_0_Afeder518855&archive=yes

Tulsa World article said:
Tulsa jury awards $1.1 million in bicycle crash lawsuit

By DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Published: 6/24/2010 11:02 PM
Last Modified: 6/24/2010 11:02 PM

A federal jury in Tulsa has awarded a more than $1.1 million verdict in the product-liability case of an Owasso man who was injured in a 2006 bicycle wreck.
Grady Wicklund and his wife, Sandi Wicklund, filed the lawsuit in July 2008 in Tulsa County District Court against Pacific Cycle after Grady Wicklund injured his shoulder and wrist in an Aug. 2, 2006, crash.
Wicklund alleged in his complaint - which was later moved to federal court - that the front fender bracket on his bicycle broke loose, allowing the fender to make contact with the front wheel. He reported hearing a popping noise and then being propelled over the handlebars and onto the pavement.
The plaintiffs alleged that the bike was "inherently defective and dangerous" because of the defective front fender bracket, which broke within the first week the bike was used.
Pacific Cycle countered that it had designed and manufactured an ordinary "pedal powered" bicycle but that a third party had retrofitted it with a motor.
The company claimed that the mounting of the motor was "unforeseeable misuse and modification" of the bike.
Wicklund reportedly underwent five surgeries in the wake of the accident and sustained $74,034.29 in medical expenses.
The couple also traced $25,442.77 in lost wages to the wreck.
Plaintiffs' attorney Jon Starr said Thursday that his clients preferred not to comment about the $1,100,107.06 that the jury returned in their favor late Wednesday.
Starr said the verdict was more than double the high end of the damages range he had suggested in his
closing argument.
He said that although the plaintiffs are thrilled by the result, "we didn't come here for a $1 million verdict.
The plaintiffs presented testimony that the front fender bracket was defective either as a result of a manufacturing process in China or because the piece of metal in question simply was not thick enough.
By DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Click to expand...

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/arti...icleid=20100624_11_0_Afeder518855&archive=yes
 
Last edited by a moderator:
im sorry... I have to agree with the company (defendant).

The motor (and subsequent vibrations) was an "unforeseeable misuse and modification" that they could not have seen coming or avoided if they wanted to. The damage caused to the average wal-mart bike by these 2 strokes is much more comprehensive than just the fender and the manufacturer has no way of knowing. I have seen these motors destroy good quality cro-molly mountain bikes.... the wal-mart bikes stand no chance in the long run and I cant for life of me see why people keep motorizing them.

Would he have gotten 1.1 mil if the spokes had broke???

This is going to cause a backlash in the mb world... one more nail in our coffin.

In the future... please dont sue somebody else for your own negligence. Every time somebody sues over one of these things it becomes that much harder to acquire/ride one of them. The fenders are the first to go when I build a bike I will ride regularly... its just common sense, please practice the same.
 
People often mock my stiff resolve to want to build electric bicycles so that they obey the Federal Ebike Law. If any person attempts to build an electric bicycle and it does not fit into the Federal Ebike Law (a safety based law) then they run the risk of million dollar lawsuits.

You would be making a huge mistake to ever think of building an ebike product without the protection of the Federal Ebike Law.

Some things are just not smart to do...

These poor folks apparently did their best to build a product and then after they sell it they still get slammed with a million dollar lawsuit. For most small businesses a million dollar loss represents an end to their business and possibly years of effort down the drain.

Businesses are under fire these days... no wonder few are being started.

(there needs to be reform of the legal system to stop this sort of thing)
 
Last edited:
safe said:
These poor folks apparently did their best to build a product and then after they sell it they still get slammed with a million dollar lawsuit. For most small businesses a million dollar loss represents an end to their business and possibly years of effort down the drain.
Click to expand...

absolutely correct... the other side of lawsuits most people fail to consider. W/out product liability insurance its a certain death sentence as most small business doesnt have a spare $1mil in retained earnings... or anywhere else in the cash flow.
 
Motorized Bicyclists are constantly declaring, or demanding, or wishing for, independence...and we can't have it both ways...you is either inside the box or outside the box...if you step out on your own you should be willing to take the hit on your own.

boiled down, it's always been my thought that the insurance lobby will likely "get us" before vehicle & traffic laws do.
 
augidog said:
boiled down, it's always been my thought that the insurance lobby will likely "get us" before vehicle & traffic laws do.
Click to expand...

not likely... not enough in premiums to justify the money it would take to lobby congress for the legislation.

barely enough in personal auto insurance.... I tried to sell it, I know.
 
Last edited:
More frivolous BS. If you put an engine on something that wasn't designed for one and it breaks, it's no one's fault but your own.
 
Love it...Called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. I wish I had sat on that jury, the POS would of gotten S**t from me. Gee I think I'll go to Sears and buy a screwdriver, come home and poke my eye out and sue. The bike wasn't the issue it was the motor...dah.....Such BS. One good example of why insurance cost as much as it does. How about I get in my diesel truck and race up the road at 120 MPH, blow out my NEW Hancook tire out, run off the road, and blame either Dodge or Hancook for my stupidity. This **** makes me sick. The bicycle company didn't make the bike or mount the engine onto the bike. geeeee a third partty did. Who'ed know. Wonder if his brother built it for him.
 
Last edited:
The individual whom built and injured himself on an MB should be held responsible for his own actions.
The plaintiff in this particular lawsuit should be caned for making the rest of us in the MB world look stupid, and weaseling himself a 1.1 MILLION reward for doing it.
 

Similar threads

T
$1 million awarded to MB rider/ fender failure
Replies
3
Views
1K
azbill
azbill
M
Switching (To or From???) the Dark Side
2 3
Replies
20
Views
6K
Buzz Bomb
B
bamabikeguy
Sept'06-A"Pre MB.com journey" to MT. CHEAHA
Replies
1
Views
5K
bamabikeguy
bamabikeguy
U
Across America- 'Frisco to Reno
Replies
0
Views
3K
uncle_punk13
U
Back
Top