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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: mlc9852

What you posted is unrelated to the brakes working or not. Although to the benefit of the manufacture it demonstrates that they do practice due care when a flaw is found.

One, the plaintiff needs to demonstrate there was indeed a manufacturing flaw in the brakes. Like the forks.

Second, the defendant needs to show there was no basic manufacturing flaw. As far as poor assembly the article is unclear how long the bike had been riden until the brake failure, plus the bike was for a girl and was the rider overweight being he was the older brother, what was his activities on the bike prior to the accident, and was the bike being used in the manner it was designed for? When was the last time a safety check was completed on the bike based on the wear & tear on the bike? Who is responsible for the safety check once the bike leaves the store? Was the bike stored and transported in such a manner as to compromise the initial assembly by the store?


21 posted on 01/16/2006 4:07:14 AM PST by EBH (Never give-up, Never give-in, and Never Forget)
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To: beaversmom

Eric Burton was riding his sister's new bike

HAHAHA!!!  Riding a girl bike.  What a fag, gets what he deserves.

Owl_Eagle

(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,

 it was probably sarcasm)

22 posted on 01/16/2006 4:09:12 AM PST by End Times Sentinel (In Memory of my Dear Friend Henry Lee II)
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To: Ninian Dryhope

Sounds like you're guessing.


23 posted on 01/16/2006 4:10:12 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: beaversmom
I heard on Glenn Beck that 3 percent of the American Population believes a lawsuit is the best way to save for retirement....here is probably one of them.....

I can't figure how BOTH sets would fail..if they had just worked prior to this intersection..and my kids bikes have both types of brakes..reverse and hand brakes...
24 posted on 01/16/2006 4:10:35 AM PST by conservativehusker (GO BIG RED!!!!)
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To: Ninian Dryhope

Could be, had the brakes worked, the kid would have used them.


25 posted on 01/16/2006 4:10:37 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: mlc9852
"Why are you blaming lawyers for the brakes failing?"

Because, unlike you, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck and I know a lawyer's lie when I see one.

The brakes did not fail. The kid did not use them. The lawyer is lying through is teeth in order to make $200,000, for which money he would gladly not only lie, but sell his mother.
26 posted on 01/16/2006 4:11:15 AM PST by Ninian Dryhope ("Bush lied, people dyed. Their fingers." The inestimable Mark Steyn)
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To: EBH

And that's the purpose of discovery. I'm sure all these questions will be answered before the case is settled.


27 posted on 01/16/2006 4:11:18 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: mlc9852
Sounds like you are a lawyer.
28 posted on 01/16/2006 4:12:10 AM PST by Ninian Dryhope ("Bush lied, people dyed. Their fingers." The inestimable Mark Steyn)
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To: son of caesar
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."

So, because it was sold at Walmart, it's automatically made in China??

What kind of parent doesn't inspect a bicycle before they stick their kid on it? ESPECIALLY if it's assembled at a store where the average employee isn't smart enough the change a light bulb, never mind assemble anything.

One has to ask if the kid's parent had given the kid proper bicycle safety lessons as well, and had the kid wearing proper safety equipment, and the bicycle inspected at a proper bicycle shop.

Nope- it's "sue someone else for my irresponsibility". poor kid, but I hope they loose.

29 posted on 01/16/2006 4:12:52 AM PST by Nathan Zachary
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To: conservativehusker
Yeah - I think the parents purposely messed with the brakes so their child would be injured and get them their retirement money.
30 posted on 01/16/2006 4:12:56 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: Ninian Dryhope

Nope


31 posted on 01/16/2006 4:13:19 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: mlc9852

Operator error!!!!

The first thing you do BEFORE riding ANYTHING is to look over the vehicle and insure it is in safe operating condition BEFORE it is ridden. Oblivions abound!


32 posted on 01/16/2006 4:15:06 AM PST by halfright (3 Days post Hanoi (Jihadi) Jane... 2200hrs meeting to urinate on her grave...Semper Fi !)
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To: Reform4Bush
As an avid bicyclist, I ride 6k+ miles a year on the road and a few more off road on a mountain bike. You wouldn't believe the Walmart bikes that I see with wheels that are so out of true that wont hardly roll or have collapsed and look like a taco wrapped around the front forks. It is absolutely amazing the "crap" that rolls out the front door of Walmart and is called a bicycle.

When I see someone on a Walmart bike that is not assembled properly, I advise them of a local bike shop that can put it together correctly for $50. The usual response is "I only paid $79 for the bike". You get what you paid for!!! I paid more for my helmet than these morons paid for the whole bike!!!!

Out of curiosity I went to my local Walmart last summer to see who was assembling the bikes. My local store had 2 Mexican kids that spoke little Engish assembling bikes on a contract basis for $6 per bike! Nuff said!!!!

regards - red

33 posted on 01/16/2006 4:15:30 AM PST by rednek (if it isn't large caliber, it isn't worth carrying)
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To: leadpenny
"Could be, had the brakes worked, the kid would have used them."

Could be that an alien came out of a spaceship and kept the brakes from working.

Back in the real world, bike brakes, front and back, do not go from working fine to suddenly failing, s you would know, if you had ever ridden a bike.
34 posted on 01/16/2006 4:15:33 AM PST by Ninian Dryhope ("Bush lied, people dyed. Their fingers." The inestimable Mark Steyn)
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To: halfright

So if you're driving your car and the brakes fail, it's operator error? I would think if you hit the gas instead of the brakes, that would be operator error.


35 posted on 01/16/2006 4:16:08 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: mlc9852

"I'm sure all these questions will be answered before the case is settled."

No way! They're going to be settled here and now. ;)


36 posted on 01/16/2006 4:17:43 AM PST by leadpenny
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To: beaversmom
and sold the bicycle in an unsafe condition

How do you sell a bicycle in an unsafe condition? Were the lights off?

Another nagging question, why is it Wal-Mart's fault IF the bicycle was unsafe? Doesn't the purchaser have an obligation to determine if the product is safe or not, as well?

I also agree with a previous poster's comment that the first time the brakes were used was at this intersection. I also don't buy this logic.

Where is Neal Boortz's "Loser Pays" system of lawsuit reform when you need it?
37 posted on 01/16/2006 4:18:39 AM PST by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: leadpenny

Yeah, let's have a poll!


38 posted on 01/16/2006 4:19:38 AM PST by mlc9852
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To: rednek

My brother worked for a contract company at K-Mart assembling products including bicycles. He made very little money because his pay was based on how much you put together. He put the products together carefully so his pay was always low. He had to quit.


39 posted on 01/16/2006 4:19:55 AM PST by beaversmom
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To: Havoc
When you buy a bike from Walmart, like it or not, you get what you paid for. You get something put together by someone who is paid nothing for any expertise that person may or may not have on a take it or leave it basis. Thanks to republicans and democrats alike, in many communities, a Walmart may be the only opportunity available to some people after the local bicycle shops closed due to pricing competition.

You know this for a fact? You can prove that the person putting the bicycle together is an underpaid 'know-nothing?'

Please do, but I want real proof, not just the echo of a disgruntled Wal-Mart hater.

Please, show us the proof!

40 posted on 01/16/2006 4:20:38 AM PST by Budge (<>< Sit Nomen Domini benedictum. <><)
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