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The plaintiff’s decedent was riding his bicycle westbound on Beverly Road in Beverly Hills approaching Southfield Road when the light at Southfield Road turned red. A car ahead of the decedent, also traveling westbound on Beverly, came to a stop at the light.
The decedent rode his bicycle around the car on the curbside of the street. There was an approximate distance of three feet between the stopped car and the curb. Testimony at trial detailed that as the decedent rode between the car and the curb, his front tire dropped into a narrow pothole abutting a storm drain causing him to lose control of his bike, which led to him falling forward over his handlebars. The decedent’s head hit the pavement resulting in cervical spine damage and paralysis. He died before giving a deposition in the case.
The defendant claimed that upon losing control, the decedent pitched directly over his handlebars, landing on his head. Two witnesses across the intersection testified the decedent went immediately over his handlebars without contacting the stopped car.
The plaintiff claimed the decedent fell in a forward left direction when he lost control and struck the stopped car which blocked him from falling harmlessly onto his left side while redirecting him over his handlebars due to residual forward momentum. The driver of the stopped car testified she heard a loud noise and assumed something had hit her car. Further, there was a scuff mark on the side of her car shown in a police photo. The defendant claimed any contact the decedent might have made with the stopped car was incidental, possibly the brushing of a foot or tire against the car while he went over his handlebars and was not the cause of the decedent going over his handlebars and sustaining injury.
Witnesses at trial included an accident reconstructionist who testified for the defense and an accident reconstructionist/biomechanical engineer who testified for the plaintiff.
The plaintiff’s estate claimed $500,000 in outstanding benefits. The parties stipulated to the amount of the plaintiff’s damages, but not the defendant’s liability to pay them. The defendant claimed the plaintiff was not entitled to any no-fault benefits since the injury did not arise out of the “ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a [motor vehicle]” as required by the no-fault act.
The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff finding that the decedent’s injury arose out of the “ownership, operation, maintenance or use” of a [motor vehicle].
Action: Motor vehicle negligence
Injuries alleged: Paralysis
Case name: Stanley Berger as Personal Representative of the Estate of Jerome Korchak v. Village of Beverly Hills
Court/case no.: Oakland County/23-198436-NO
Judge: Jeffery Matis
Mediator: Daniel Makarski
Verdict amount: $500,000
Date: March 18, 2025
Most helpful expert: Ali Sadeegh, biomechanical engineer and accident reconstructionist
Attorneys for plaintiff: Mark E. Boegehold, Thurswell Law, Southfield
