A woman has filed suit against the motorcycle driver who she claims caused her to violently collide with the bike after he caused it to become airborne.
Lori A. Schmidt claims she was riding on a motorcycle defendant Roger D. Schmidt was driving south on Bluff Road near its intersection with Route 156 near Old Valmeyer on Aug. 19. Roger Schmidt failed to obey a stop sign, then left the roadway and entered a graveled, abandoned road, according to the complaint filed April 30 in Madison County Circuit Court. His motorcycle then became airborne and Lori Schmidt was “caused to violently impact” it, the suit states.
Because of the incident, Lori Schmidt suffered severe fractures to her spinal column that required immediate surgery and suffered great pain and anguish, the complaint says. She also claims she incurred medical costs and lost income and her normal life.
Roger Schmidt negligently failed to obey a traffic control device, failed to reduce his speed to avoid leaving the road and drove too fast, according to the complaint.
At the time of the collision, Lori Schmidt had insurance through defendant Country Preferred Insurance Company, which promised to pay her $250,000 for each occurrence. However, when Lori Schmidt submitted a claim for the motorcycle accident, Country refused to comply with the terms of its own policy, the suit states.
Country “vexatiously delayed the settlement of her claim in that it offered the plaintiff less than one-third of the amount of her medical bills when it knew or should have known that the plaintiff was severely injured requiring extensive surgeries and medical treatment,” the complaint says.
She claims the insurance company also failed to investigate witnesses to the collision besides Roger Schmidt and failed to inspect the site of the accident.
In her two-count complaint, Schmidt seeks a judgment of no less than $100,000, plus punitive damages, costs and other relief the court deems just.
David W. Dugan of East Alton will be representing her.
Madison County Circuit Court case number: 13-L-660.
Driver sues motorcyclist after collision with airborne bike
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