Truck Driver Responsible for Waving Car into Path of Motorcycle

If you are going to wave another motorist into an intersection, you need to be responsible about it.  In a recent case, a truck driver who wanted to make a right turn was partially blocked by a car trying to make a left. The truck was blocking the car's view of traffic in an adjacent lane, so the car couldn't turn.  The truck driver waived the car clear, even though there was a motorcycle rider on his left about to enter the intersection. Any collision between a car and a motorcycle is likely to cause serious injuries and this was no exception. The 38 year old motorcycle rider sustained a fractured hip requiring a hip replacement and had over $300,000 in medical expenses. A jury returned a verdict for $2.5 million.

I hope the injured plaintiff was able to collect every penny. These are serious injuries that are likely to cause problems for the rest of her life - and potentially get worse with age. 

This case was made difficult by finger pointing between the car's owner and the trucking company. The trucker's employer went further, claiming that it did not own the tractor-trailer and that the driver of the turning car was 100% at fault. Ultimately, the jury didn't buy it.