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.
I'm only trying to suggest parents consider an alternative that involves a bicycle shop as opposed to the Mega-Lo Mart.
The safety of the bike is largely a matter of who assembled it. Your odds are much better at a bike shop of having a qualified person assembling it. I'm sure there are a few fine bike assemblers at WalMart or wherever, but they aren't the norm.
Many who ride hold this view. Just sharing it for others to consider, especially parents.
Dad isn't as handy as he once was.
Gee - I fell off a bike when I was in 8th grade and broke my arm - was going downhill and the brakes failed - it was an old bike. This was back in the 60s before we knew that it was someone's else fault for not keeping the bike in good working order. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been in a nice condo on the beach somewhere instead of wasting my whole morning with you all
Just because havoc has an account doesn't make him/her a Freeper.
Just look for a good used bike and save some money. Of course, take it to someone experienced and have it checked out.
Wouldn't you be more comfortable knowing some actual facts before deciding?
A handy person could probably do the brakes. He isn't going to true the wheels properly. It might be straight, but it may have too much tension and cause a failure at the hub later. If the stem is not inserted at the proper height it may break off. Joe garage mechanic doesn't always know these things.
I do my own bike maintenance (except building or truing my $500 rims), so yeah it doesn't take a 4 year degree. But people aren't as handy in general as they once were, and bikes are more complicated.
It's just a view held by many avid bikers such as myself. I'm not declaring any new law be made.
Because, in the same manner that you are supposed to check your mirrors, brakes, tires and what's sitting on the ground behind you when you start your car and pull out, one is also SUPPOSED to check the brakes and tires on a bicycle also. IF the first time you try braking is in a busy intersection, your a friggin' idiot and deserve what's coming to you.....
I bought a new mountain bike this year to replace my 30 year old Raleigh Record. The first time I hit the DISC BRAKES, I went over the handlebars, onto my new helmet. MY fault, but thankfully I had bought a helmut. So I guess I ruined my lawsuit but kept the use of my arms and legs.
Wouldn't you be more comfortable knowing some actual facts before deciding?
You are the one who said "The brakes failed."
I don't think a child ever DESERVES to be injured.
decent looking mountain bikes for $75.
You do get what you pay for.
I dont have a dog in this fight but this is a perfect opportunity to offer a little bit of personal experience. I paid $150 for a 'decent mountain bike' at one of these department stores for my kid, and within 2 weeks the pedal stripped off. Not being a bike expert when I bought it, i had no idea that i should check the pedal so see if it was crossthreaded. It takes a little experience and mechanical dexterity to put it on without crossthreading it. For that profit margin i really dont expect lance armstrong to put it together.
I took it back and got a full refund, took the same money to a custom bike shop and paid an extra 100 bucks for a decent bike that was put together by people who cared about what they were doing.
I've got nothing against walmart, i shop there all the time. There are some things that you dont buy there. Like Sushi. Never buy Sushi at Walmart. (except perhaps in japan)
Those were not my words. That's why I had it them quotations. They were in the article. I have no way of knowing whether or not the brakes failed.
Yep. It's out of control. Until recently I ran a small glider tow club off my property. There was no money in it, just a bunch of guys having fun flying gliders. After a disagreement with my insurance underwriter about a general liability waiver I was using to protect myself and my property, the insurance company basically said that they would refuse to honor my insurance coverage because of the waiver. This is despite the fact that they are in no way named in the waiver. You might have heard of this "insurance" company. It's name is AIG. They also provide hull insurance for the majority of gliders in this country and they refused to honor the hull insurance of our members, too, if they'd signed my waiver. Essentially, the insurance company wanted to be able to sue me as airport owner to recoup any claims they might have to pay, regardless of whether I was at fault or not. After that little ditty came to light I couldn't shut the club down fast enough.
If this sort of BS continues companies and individuals simply won't manufacture products or provide services that expose them to undue liability. We've already seen it with vaccine manufacturers and OB GYN Doc's. Coming soon to a courtroom near you....
We need Tort Reform and we need it NOW!
I don't think a child ever DESERVES to be injured.
Neither do I, but I also do not believe he should get $900k because of brakes, whether he used them or not.
I googled on Roadmaster Mountain Sport and it pops right up on the WalMart page. Sure enough, the bike has two brakes, front and rear. It's pretty hard to think of a mechanical failure that would suddenly knock out both brakes. Sounds like operator error to me.
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