A man who was seriously injured in a Thousand Oaks motorcycle accident on February 2, 2009 has been identified as 33-year-old Ambrosio Rodriguez, the Ventura County Star reports in this article. The collision occurred when Rodriguez who was riding his motorcycle east on Hillcrest Drive hit a Buick Rendezvous pulling out of a parking lot near Boardwalk Avenue.
Rodriguez’s motorcycle apparently struck the passenger side of the Buick being driven by Denis Liu and the impact from the collision caused the Buick to overturn. The car came to rest on its side. Rodriguez was taken to an area hospital while Liu suffered minor injuries.
I’m relieved that this Southern California motorcycle accident did not result in catastrophic or fatal injuries. I wish Ambrosio Rodriguez the very best for a quick and complete recovery. He will be in my prayers.
According to California Highway Patrol’s 2006 statistics, there were 12 deaths and 238 injuries relating to Ventura County motorcycle accidents. In Thousand Oaks, there was one motorcycle accident fatality and 31 injuries during the same period.
Based on this newspaper report, it appears that Liu, the driver of the Buick was at fault for this motorcycle accident. He probably pulled out of the parking lot without checking for oncoming traffic. And as it often happens with motorcycle accidents, it is the person on the motorcycle who gets more seriously injured than the person in the other vehicle. In this case, Rodriguez who was riding his motorcycle on the roadway had the right of way. Liu seems to have been negligent while pulling out of the driveway. He could be held liable for the accident and the injuries caused to Rodriguez, who will be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages and other related costs.
If Liu was on the job for an employer or running errands for someone, his employer or the person he was running errands for could also be held financially responsible for Rodriguez’s injuries. Injured victims in such cases would be well-advised to retain the services of a reputed California personal injury attorney who is well-qualified to handle motorcycle accident cases. Other than the obvious legal issues here, I would want my investigator to go out to the scene to see if anything about the physical layout of the parking lot or driveway where this occurred was dangerous or caused this accident to happen. In such cases, the property owner may be held liable for allowing a dangerous condition to exist.