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Wal-Mart, bicycle builder named in $900,000 lawsuit
Kingsport Times-News ^ | January 16, 2006 | JEFF BOBO

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.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: lawsuit; lawsuitlottery
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To: razorback-bert
Ah, well the difference is that modern bicycles are ridden quite a bit differently than your good ol' 65 pound cruisers from Sears, Wards, and even the Schwinn phantom. Those were neighborhood crawlers that kids mostly walked up hill. A modern bicycle weighs anywhere from the neighborhood of 1/3 of that for mountain bikes, to 1/4 of that for road bikes. The speed and manner that bicycles are ridden have increased dramatically. The result is a lot more stress on the equipment and risk to the rider. It's not the same world anymore.
241 posted on 01/17/2006 10:05:15 PM PST by Melas (What!? Read or learn something? Why would anyone do that, when they can just go on being stupid)
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To: Wonder Warthog

Depends on what you mean by upscale. My understanding is that the bike shop I do business with stays in business selling $500 and under bikes. Hardly upscale. There are probably a few more like me who're buying $2000 bikes, and maybe 1 or 2 who buy the truly upscale $5000 and up machines.


242 posted on 01/17/2006 10:15:33 PM PST by Melas (What!? Read or learn something? Why would anyone do that, when they can just go on being stupid)
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To: Reform4Bush
Wal-Mart is not a good place to buy a bike. They are junk, and they generally don't have an experienced bike builder assembling them.

That's why I saved up and bought mine at Sam's Club.

243 posted on 01/17/2006 10:18:57 PM PST by P-Marlowe
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To: Melas
I have really been fascinated with your comments upon bicyles and cycling.....but did you really mean to phrase this in this manner?

Get a kid something like a Specialized P3 or a Fisher Mullet and you have a bike that will survive the wrecks your kids don't.

I am sure you didn't mean it to hurt anyone, but as the mom of a 7yo who got a bike for Christmas, I really cringed at that wording.

244 posted on 01/17/2006 10:21:38 PM PST by Gabz
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To: Melas
Exactly. The pedals and shoes for any of my bicyles costs more than a Wal-Mart special, and the difference is that I can count on my bikes to not fail me in an intersection.

Bull****. Even expensive Trek bikes fail. Read this:

-------------------------------------------------------
Michael D. Trost,          *
                           *
                           *
Plaintiff/Appellant,       * Appeal from the United
                           * States
     v.                    * District Court for the
                           * District of Minnesota.
Trek Bicycle Corporation,  *
                           *
Defendant/Appellee.
-------------------------------------------------------

Michael Trost purchased a Trek all-terrain bicycle in 1991 and used it regularly until July 25, 1996, when he had the accident that gave rise to this action. He rode the bicycle approximately 35 miles each week during summer and ten miles weekly during winter, when he used chains on the tires to increase their traction. His rides included off-road trails and lasted up to five hours. The accident occurred as Trost was riding home from work along a path in a ditch. Suddenly the front end of the bicycle dropped precipitously. To him it felt as if the front of the bicycle had "dropped into a manhole." He was pitched over the handlebars and "knocked out," and he suffered injuries to his head, neck, and face. Later examination of the bicycle showed that the top tube of the bicycle frame had fractured near the point where it met the front steering tube. Trost claims that this fracture caused the accident.

Trost filed this action against Trek in January 1997, alleging that the bicycle was defective in design, manufacture, and warnings, that the defects caused the accident, and that Trek had breached its warranty.


245 posted on 01/17/2006 10:23:34 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: Gabz

Oh man. It's really late. I was just trying to say that the bike would be tougher than the kids. I didn't realize that I'd inadvertantly killed the kid in my scenerio. I'm sorry.


246 posted on 01/17/2006 10:24:28 PM PST by Melas (What!? Read or learn something? Why would anyone do that, when they can just go on being stupid)
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To: Melas
It's nothing to do with Wal-Mart bashing. You simply cannot get a good bicycle for $75 unless you're buying a used bike for a song. You get what you pay for. When the ground is four or five feet beneath me, I'm going 25 miles an hour, and I'm coming quick, the last thing I want to be worried about is if my bike is going to let me down. If you're going to crawl around the block at 6mph, then maybe a department store bike will be ok, but that's about the absolutely limit of usage.

Dude, most bikes bought at Walmart are not used to fly down mountain trails at 25 mph. They are used by kids to bike to and from school on sidewalks at 3 or 4 mph.

247 posted on 01/17/2006 10:29:48 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: FreedomCalls

Comparing a failure that's obviously the product of aluminum fatigue from 5 years of continuous use with crappola is just insane. I mean you did catch that he rode the hell out of this bike for 5 freakin' years before it failed prior to your posting it right? Aluminum frames unlike steel ones have limited life-spans, hence the mountain biking axiom "Steel is Real". This isn't supposed to be a secret.


248 posted on 01/17/2006 10:29:48 PM PST by Melas (What!? Read or learn something? Why would anyone do that, when they can just go on being stupid)
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To: Melas

And you think that's the only time Trek has been sued?


249 posted on 01/17/2006 10:32:42 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: FreedomCalls

I'm hoping you have some point, and that you're really not trying to convince me that Pacific cycles are of the same quality as Trek, Specialized, C-Dale or any other manufacturer of quality bikes. If that's your goal, you're barking up the wrong tree because I've been riding for way to long to swallow any of it.


250 posted on 01/17/2006 10:34:23 PM PST by Melas (What!? Read or learn something? Why would anyone do that, when they can just go on being stupid)
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To: Melas
I'm hoping you have some point

The point is to tell you that it is false to believe that an expensive bike will never fail (your words). Quote: "the difference is that I can count on my bikes to not fail me." A more expensive bike may be less likely to fail than a cheap one when used hard, but expensive ones fail too.

251 posted on 01/17/2006 10:44:24 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: FreedomCalls
A more expensive bike may be less likely to fail than a cheap one when used hard, but expensive ones fail too.

I didn't expect anyone to adopt an overly literal reading of my "the difference is that I can count on my bikes to not fail me." and read into it a testament of absolute infallibility. Everything has a potential for failure, but if you have to be rear ended at a light, the smart money is on being in the Volvo and not the Pinto. Likewise, I've diminished the possibility of equipment failure as much as I can by buying quality equipment. It can still fail, but it's not very likely. Quite the contrary for department store bikes, failure under heavy use is expected.

252 posted on 01/17/2006 10:50:27 PM PST by Melas (What!? Read or learn something? Why would anyone do that, when they can just go on being stupid)
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To: Melas

No apology necessary, I understood what you were saying, just the wording was a bit off.

Sut you're right, it is late, so I will wish you a pleasant good night, because I need to get some sleep :)

FReegards


253 posted on 01/17/2006 10:55:56 PM PST by Gabz
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To: NoControllingLegalAuthority
Tort law deals with injuries and remedies. Ask yourself the following questions: 1) Was the bike fit for use? 2) Was the bike being used in a manner that would constitute reasonable use? 3) Are there product liability laws in the location where the bike was sold and used? 4) Do these laws establish remedies for the injuries? 5) Is there an adjudication process to determine the extent of the injuries and remedies? 6) Are lawyers entitled to compensation for assisting injured parties and defendants? 7) What part of this process do you not understand?
254 posted on 01/17/2006 11:02:26 PM PST by Natural Law
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To: Melas

Oh no! Neither one of us ride in the mountains or on rough trails. If we ride it's on a paved country road or at her school. She's only 10 and we don't allow her to ride without me and I don't do trails. :-) We have to ride them because they do better on country roads where you encounter a lot of gravel, etc. One of these days when she learns to treat her things better I'll get her a better bike but right now we have to keep after her about putting it up, etc. If we didn't make her bring it in it would be on it's side in the yard. Granny does not do bike trails! :-)


255 posted on 01/18/2006 2:37:09 AM PST by Melinda in TN
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To: HKMk23

I see old Schwinns occasionally at flea markets but they are usually in bad shape at a big price. If I ever run up on one in decent shape I might buy it.


256 posted on 01/18/2006 2:46:44 AM PST by Melinda in TN
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To: Havoc
"Horse manure is precisely what you're shovelling, sir. One of my Christmas presents from a family member this year was a used bike purchased from our local shoppe. It was assembled from spare parts out of the shoppe's basement with a few "new" items added to make it safe and road worthy."

Re-read what I said. Sure, bike shops "do" do that kind of thing, but that's not where they make their major income. The major income is from the "new sale" of upscale bikes.

"Perhaps "upscale" may describe your big city version of it. I'm talking small town america - you know, where Walmart has drivin the mom and pop businesses into the ground.."

Gee, it's a funny thing, then, because I can go into the bike shop in the small town (pop ca 10,000) that is closest to the RURAL location where I live, and find exactly the situation I described.

257 posted on 01/18/2006 4:19:45 AM PST by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel)
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To: Melas
"Depends on what you mean by upscale. My understanding is that the bike shop I do business with stays in business selling $500 and under bikes. Hardly upscale. There are probably a few more like me who're buying $2000 bikes, and maybe 1 or 2 who buy the truly upscale $5000 and up machines."

I'm talking about bikes in the $199 and up range, as opposed to the $59 to $199 bikes that are sold by Sears, Penneys, WalMart, etc. Its a different market segment. They don't compete "head to head".

258 posted on 01/18/2006 4:24:03 AM PST by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel)
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259 posted on 01/18/2006 4:25:17 AM PST by KneelBeforeZod (Someday a real rain will come and wipe this scum off the streets.)
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To: Melas

"Aluminum frames unlike steel ones have limited life-spans, hence the mountain biking axiom "Steel is Real"."

This is mostly correct. Except that even steel has a life span but it is much longer than aluminum. And, GENERALLY, steel does not have catastrophic failure. Back in the day when ALL race quality bikes were made of Columbus SL (or later SLX) tubing or Reynolds 531c or 753 tubing, all of these being steel, we road them until they began to "flex out", meaning that that thousands of miles of honking up hills had caused the steel tubing to become more maleable abd bend easier. At that time we knew we needed to get a new frame. Unless, of course, your team sponsor was nice enough to give you a new frame every year.


260 posted on 01/18/2006 5:21:58 AM PST by RouxStir (Peaceful muslim...The Ultimate Oxymoron!)
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