Posted on 01/16/2006 3:27:57 AM PST by beaversmom
ROGERSVILLE - The mother of a Rogersville boy who was injured in an accident last year on a new bicycle has filed a $900,000 lawsuit against the bike manufacturer and Wal-Mart, where the bike was purchased.
Elizabeth Burton, 625 S. Armstrong St., Rogersville, is the mother of Eric Burton, who was injured in an accident on Jan. 9, 2005. The boy's sister had received the Roadmaster Mountain Sport bicycle as a Christmas present from their father.
According to the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Burtons by Morristown attorney Gary E. Brewer, on Jan. 9 of last year Eric Burton was riding his sister's new bike on South Armstrong Street, but as he approached the Broadway Street intersection the brakes failed.
The bike didn't stop and continued onto Broadway Street into the path of an oncoming vehicle which had the right of way, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit further contends that as a result of the accident Eric Burton was severely injured, was hospitalized and will undergo continuing medical treatment.
Aside from Wal-Mart, the other defendants in the lawsuit include Pacific Cycle, Inc., based in Wilmington, Del., as well as its parent company Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc., which is to be served with the lawsuit in Columbus, Ind.
The lawsuit alleges that Pacific Cycle manufactured the bicycle in a defective condition, making it unsafe. The lawsuit also alleges that Wal-Mart assembled the bicycle.
"The defendant (Wal-Mart) assembled and sold the bicycle in an unsafe condition and design when they knew or should have known by the exercise of ordinary care that the bicycle would be subject to failure," the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit seeks $750,000 for injuries and damages and another $150,000 for medical expenses. The defendants have 30 days from the Jan. 6 filing date of the lawsuit to either file a response or seek a time extension.
1. How do you know the assemblers were Mexican?
2. How do you know that they were working on contract basis as opposed to being hourly employees?
3. How do you know that they were being paid $6.00 per bike?
4. Even if you can provide reasonable answers to 1,2 and 3, how do you know that this is a representative sample of what you can find at Walmart as opposed to your sample of 1?
"Nuff said" indeed.
So BOTH brakes failed! Double the damages!
When you buy a bike from Walmart, like it or not, you get what you paid for.
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A message being lost on many in our cuntry. I heard a discussion about a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mary by parents who bought bikes with quick release front wheels, whose wheels have come loose while in motion.
One father phoned the show to say that he bought a bike like this for his son and told the son to assemble the bike, because the father did not know that sort of stuff. This caller had a foreign accent and identified that he was a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The host of the show could not convince the caller that he had a responsibility to give his child something that he could not verify was safe.
He says he does. So I asked him "Why?"
"So I don't kill myself."
He's six years old.
"The hot back then was to wear gloves with pads on the palms, reach over the handle bar and slow the bike by rubbing the pad on the tire"
Was that after you walked to and from school in 6' of snow, uphill both ways?
"as he approached the Broadway Street intersection the brakes failed."
1) Probably poor journalist writing (big surprise), which should say "as he applied them, the brakes failed.
2) How do TWO sets of brakes fail at the same time?
3) I think an analysis of the bicycle will show that the kid failed to use the brakes correctly, if at all.
you're raising your son to be smart I see. good job.
Usually the only reason they need to hire one is because some jerk hired one first!
Not so much about playing in traffic but many towns have ordinances not allowing bike riding on the sidewalks.
Hope the brakes on this bike aren't messed up too much from the accident that they can see if they actually worked.
When I was a kid, I'd fly through stop signs all the time. I'm confident that's what happened in this case.
I agree. I've bought several low price bikes and I always check them first thing. That's not enough though. Just like any vehicle, they must be checked periodically. No way I trust the kids I see working at Wal-Mart to assemble a bike.
I agree...my son put bikes togethre for Walmart after 10 hours training...
BUt for most of us, we can afford 98 dollar bike at Walmart but not the 300 dollar at a bike store...
Especially since our boys tend to wreck the bikes fairly quickly
Yeah, like a spouse - lol.
The defense will definitely want you on their jury!
Thats what I want to know, but the 150K for medical is not nearly as interesting as 750K for medical expences..
1/2 price should not equal 1/2 quality/safety, but, sometimes it does. Parents/buyers/lawyers beware.
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