Hope there's a sign there now to stop the pork.
Posted on 03/31/2009 7:58:09 AM PDT by RogerWilko
A California jury has awarded a rider $8.6 million dollars for a motorcycle accident caused by wild pigs.
Dating back to an accident which took place in December 2003 when Adam Rogers, a 45-year-old former karate teacher and champion kickboxer was thrown from his motorcycle after colliding with wild pigs on Highway 1 south of the Carmel River in Monterey County.
A Monterey County jury ordered the state’s Department of Transport to pay $8.6 million to Rogers ruling the state was responsible because officials knew that wild pigs regularly crossed that particular stretch of highway but did nothing to address it.
Rogers, who suffered serious injuries and is now confined to a wheelchair and his wife sued the state Department of Transportation in Monterey County Superior Court.
DOT attorneys argued that the state wasn't responsible for the actions of wild animals and said Rogers was under the influence when he struck them. A test found Rogers had a blood-alcohol level of more than .10 after the crash, but the jury concluded that wasn't a major factor in the crash.
Rogers' attorney, Larry Biegel brought forward the testimony of experts for the plaintiffs who demonstrated the difficulty for anyone, impaired or not, to see wild pigs crossing the highway at night.
After Rogers' accident, the state put up a pig-crossing sign and later began using hunters to control the pig population.
Rogers' wife, Kristin Finn, also was awarded $500,000 for "loss of consortium."
GOOD GOD... We've got so many STUPID people in this state! Now the taxpayers get stuck with a $9 MILLION bill, because a DRUNK motorcyclist hits a pig on his motorcycle.
Even the wife gets a cool $.5 million... how nice of them!
Who are these IDIOTS!!??
I gotta get outta hear in a few years, this place is LOCO!!
Wasn’t there a “Wild Pig Xing” sign there?
I bet most of the jury aren’t even legal residents of this country. The 9th circuit will probably not overturn this; we have to hope the supreme court accepts this case and overturns it. By then though, the legal fees alone would be in the high 6 figures.
Typical of liberals though; they refuse to take responsibility for anything ever.
You didn’t know taxpayer money grows on trees in Kalifornia?.....
What, no Pig Crossing sign ?
Guess what?...that’s there answer!....hope the pigs can read!
loss of consortium??
Hope there's a sign there now to stop the pork.
Odds are he was on a HOG at the time.
I was listening to Armstrong and Getty on 650 AM here in Sacto., and a couple of callers said that he was riding on some desolate stretch of road in the middle of the night in a wooded area.
You might think there could possibly be wildlife wandering the area, but I guess the jury is TOO STUPID to think that the drunk fool should’ve known better!
WOW... Even his wife gets some spending cash to boot! This is a GREAT state. I hope they enjoy our money thanks to these MORONS!
Biker collides with Kalifornistan envirowackos and their beloved wild pigs, who must be allowed to roam unimpeded. Kalifornistan taxpayers pay for the pork (as usual).
Gee, this article has a little something for everyone!
PETA is prolly not amused; maybe they’ll sue the biker!
Kalifornistan — from economic engine to third-world circus in under 5 decades.
I’d say this could happen on 99% of the rural roads....
Geez. We are seeing deer laying on the side of the road here every day, struck by sober people. If a pig is worth almost 9 million a deer should be worth a million or two at least.
I guy in the office wiped out on a skunk.
He didn’t sue the state. But we all pitched in and bought him about 20 cans of tomato juice to welcome him back to work.
The jury was going to find whatever they had to find to make sure this guy got paid for his injuries. Juries are like that. They think it is there job to make things better, any way they can. They can’t fix the guy, but they can make him rich. So they do.
The fact that somebody (the taxpayers) have to pay the bill never enters into their minds.
I can’t verify if this is true, but some lady that claimed to the friend of these people said that the pig was already dead and lying in the road!
That would make it even MORE stupid, because that means the pig didn’t even dart out in front of him, and he just wasn’t paying attention!
The MORON jury “concluded that wasn’t a major factor in the crash”!!??
If you’re DRUNK, you’re reactions would be slowed down and it WOULD be a major factor in why he hit it!
>> If you’re DRUNK, you’re reactions would be slowed down and it WOULD be a major factor in why he hit it!
Well, most places it would. But rumor has it that personal responsibility is against state law in Kalifornistan.
Lesson:
Don’t drive a Motorcycle with the chance of wild animals jumping out...unless you’re going to get 8.6 million. hey, these days that’s nothing...go for BILLIONS!
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