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The plaintiff lawyer is just throwing up anything that might stick. I doubt you could sue a racer for crashing during an organized motorsports event.
Maybe trying to force a settlement.
I feel bad for his injuries, but this is straight up bullshit!
If the insurance company of Barnes is the driving force behind the claims filed, don't they still need consent from Barnes to proceed in order to make claims on his behalf to seek compensation from the financial damages?
If Barnes said "hell no you aren't suing Washougal MX" can the insurance company still bring a case to the table?
I know the guy is Core and has been around for decades, but people make decisions that a very, very hard when debts start to arise, so much to the point they might be financially crippling. The guy went through some devastating injuries, lengthy hospital stays, and probably couldn't work for a long time. Even if he was trying to recover some costs to get himself out from underneath from the mountain of medical debt, I feel he has a right to do so.
Just because he was a volunteer does not negate Washougal from their obligations to keep people safe and injury free. That includes racers, crew members, fans, volunteers, etc. This might be treated like many other workplace injuries.
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I would like to know what federal and state industrial safety standards, exactly, exist that apply to motocross tracks?
What a joke. Don't flaggers have to sign waivers anyway?
I feel bad for the guy who was injured, but if any judge even allows this suit to proceed, a defense attorney would have a field day with this.
First, ML may very well be right and this can be driven by a subrogation claim by the health insurer for the costs they've paid out.
99.9% of people who make a claim/sue don't get "rich". If you do get "rich", you or a loved one are probably dead, paralyzed or seriously and permanently injured. If you believe otherwise, then you've been duped by the insurance lobby because me and all my friends would be retired in our 30's
I personally think the case is a loser and wouldn't take it. The guy is a former pro card holder, longtime flagger and will be held to a very high standard of knowing and assuming the risks.
Looks like the attorney threw everything at the wall to see what sticks. Many of those claims will be dismissed by the court pretty quickly. My money is on the insurance lawyers.
I don't have a dog in the fight, but...
The article doesn't say what amount he is even suing for....It IS possible that none of the organizations that he is suing is covering his medical bills. If he was working an event and incurred upwards of 500k in medical bills because of a work related accident...it should be expected that the organization he is working for should pay for it.
And for the reasons stated in the article...it's OBVIOUS that his lawyer wrote all that about unsafe conditions, ect. Same reason they have so many people/organizations listed as defendants. Plaintiff is going for the greatest possibility of a positive outcome.
Let me make clear that I do NOT support this guy's case and scoff at it like many of you. Suing a dirtbike track makes NO SENSE. Unless you are parking equipment next to the track or have stakes/spears ready to impale riders, there is something called assumption of the risk in my state.
Jarryd McNeil from "250 Words":
Jarryd McNeil, The Factory Metal Works/Vurbmoto, 29-23 for twenty-fifth in 250
This was my first ever National. I was going to race a Racer X bike in 2010, but before I did I wadded and lacerated my liver. Now, four years later here I am, and I haven’t raced a National since 2008 in Australia. Just thought I’d give it a go, and I teamed up with Vurbmoto and Factory Metal Works to try to race a National. Practice was gnarly! I was running tenth in the first practice in qualifying times in the B group. I’ve never been a track that gnarly before ever. I’ve never seen that many ruts in my life! I had no expectations but to try my best and I qualified without even having to go to the consolation race.
Lucky I made it in, because in my last practice I came down off one the step-downs down the hill and got cross-rutted and went off the track and t-boned a track worker who was probably 6’-something and 300 pounds nearly. Unfortunately, I think I broke his arm, and he ended up getting airlifted out of here this morning, just from me hitting him. I walked away fine. I busted my helmet up, but I had a spare one, but I crushed my radiator. Between my girlfriend and my mechanic, we were running around to all the teams trying to find a radiator, but the factory teams have aftermarket-modified radiators. We ended up going to the amateur pits and I paid 150 dollars to borrow a radiator for the day. It got me through and I made it, nearly even scored some points. But I made the National, which was my goal. I haven’t raced in four or five years, and I’m loving it. Pretty good for a freestyler I guess!
another tid bit
Brian and Bruce Barnes are the sons of Clark County Commissioner Ed Barnes. Washougal Mayor Sean Guard got the Camas Police Department to notify Ed Barnes, who was attending the Camas Days festival at the time of the incident. The family has been involved in motocross since the 1970s. Bruce Barnes was a professional rider until he broke his neck a couple of years ago, his brother said.
"He volunteers and helps a lot of different tracks around the northwest," he said.
The Washougal MX event, which brought thousands of people to the stands, is one of 12 events in a national series. Although motor sports have an inherent risk, Brian Barnes said, he could recall only two serious injuries that occurred at the Washougal track during the decade he's worked there. There is a buffer zone and fence around the entire track.
"It was no fault of anybody's that this happened," he said. The Australian rider who lost control of his vehicle changed his flight schedule so he could visit Bruce Barnes in the hospital on Sunday.
Pit Row
From insurance law to the non works clamps BB prefers over works.
Every time I hear a podcast or see a comment by the guy he is always offering up something new and unique.
That's why nearly every auto insurance renewal packet I've ever received includes instructions to never accept guilt in the event of an accident.
If you harm their ability to collect through subrogation, they could possibly refuse to pay a claim, since their position would be that someone else is responsible for at least a portion of the damages.
That obstacle has proved problematic in the past.
2) Not everyone would know all the risks involved.
3) Based on what I read, he's gonna win a lot of money!
4) If he got paid any amount of money or merchandise or free entry and food to be a "volunteer", he's gonna win a lot more than a lot of money.
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