Parents sue road designers and builders over bike crash
St. Charles County — The mother of a girl severely injured in a bicycle crash in 2005 is suing the people who designed and built the road where she was injured, saying her medical expenses are likely to exceed $25 million.Hailey Kramer, now 11, fell off her bike and hit her head on a wooden post on June 24, 2005. Her medical expenses have topped $1.3 million, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit asks for damages from six companies involved in the design and construction of Lake Haven Drive near Defiance. James D. O'Leary, the Kramers' attorney, said that a combination of a road that was too steep, and dangerous wooden posts, had caused Hailey's injuries, and that her family's insurance would cover only so much. Hailey is unable to walk or talk, according to the family's website."There's not enough money available to come even close to addressing what this little girl's medical needs are going to be in her lifetime," O'Leary said.
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O'Leary said that the family had to focus on Hailey's medical concerns right after her accident, and that it took his experts several months to develop the information that led to the lawsuit. The suit, while filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court on Oct. 11, hasn't formally reached defendants, he said, because the family is working on settlement talks with them.Representatives from the six companies — Bax Development, J.C. Bax Construction Co., Howell & Sons Excavating, Burke's Landscape & Retaining Wall Systems, All Type Excavating (doing business as L. Krupp Construction) and Bax Engineering — either couldn't be reached or declined to comment Wednesday.Hailey's family also could not be reached. Hailey's mother, Robin Kramer, filed the suit on her behalf.O'Leary said Hailey was riding along Lake Haven Drive on the way home from a friend's house when she crashed. The hill slopes down from a dead end where her trip started. A tree-lined lake sits on one side of the road. The land drops away on the other. A metal guardrail now lines the narrow street on both sides.O'Leary said that guardrail wasn't there the day Hailey crashed. Instead, he said, there were wooden posts. The side of Hailey's face hit one of those posts on the roadside opposite the lake. She wasn't wearing a helmet, but doctors have said that probably wouldn't have mattered. Lake Haven Drive, which intersects the street Hailey lives on, was built between 1996 and 1998, the lawsuit says. The suit cites a St. Charles County ordinance that requires subdivision roads to have a grade of no more than 12 percent. County Counselor Joann Leykam said the 12 percent standard had been in place since at least 1959.The lawsuit doesn't specify the road's slope, but O'Leary said experts had determined that it exceeds the county's standard as well as nationally accepted standards. As for the posts, O'Leary said they served little purpose other than to mark the roadway.In addition to the $1.3 million in current medical expenses and $25 million in future medical costs, the lawsuit says Hailey will lose $1.2 million in future income.The latest update on www.helmetsforhailey.org, a website for the family's nonprofit organization formed after the accident, says Hailey is making new sounds and movements. Friends, co-workers and others in the community rallied to help the family after the accident. Hailey is a triplet, with two brothers.
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O'Leary said that the family had to focus on Hailey's medical concerns right after her accident, and that it took his experts several months to develop the information that led to the lawsuit. The suit, while filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court on Oct. 11, hasn't formally reached defendants, he said, because the family is working on settlement talks with them.Representatives from the six companies — Bax Development, J.C. Bax Construction Co., Howell & Sons Excavating, Burke's Landscape & Retaining Wall Systems, All Type Excavating (doing business as L. Krupp Construction) and Bax Engineering — either couldn't be reached or declined to comment Wednesday.Hailey's family also could not be reached. Hailey's mother, Robin Kramer, filed the suit on her behalf.O'Leary said Hailey was riding along Lake Haven Drive on the way home from a friend's house when she crashed. The hill slopes down from a dead end where her trip started. A tree-lined lake sits on one side of the road. The land drops away on the other. A metal guardrail now lines the narrow street on both sides.O'Leary said that guardrail wasn't there the day Hailey crashed. Instead, he said, there were wooden posts. The side of Hailey's face hit one of those posts on the roadside opposite the lake. She wasn't wearing a helmet, but doctors have said that probably wouldn't have mattered. Lake Haven Drive, which intersects the street Hailey lives on, was built between 1996 and 1998, the lawsuit says. The suit cites a St. Charles County ordinance that requires subdivision roads to have a grade of no more than 12 percent. County Counselor Joann Leykam said the 12 percent standard had been in place since at least 1959.The lawsuit doesn't specify the road's slope, but O'Leary said experts had determined that it exceeds the county's standard as well as nationally accepted standards. As for the posts, O'Leary said they served little purpose other than to mark the roadway.In addition to the $1.3 million in current medical expenses and $25 million in future medical costs, the lawsuit says Hailey will lose $1.2 million in future income.The latest update on www.helmetsforhailey.org, a website for the family's nonprofit organization formed after the accident, says Hailey is making new sounds and movements. Friends, co-workers and others in the community rallied to help the family after the accident. Hailey is a triplet, with two brothers.
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i feel bad for this girl and her family but there is nothing wrong with this road. it isnt too steep. the road markers were fine. she was clumsy and someone needs to pay for that. maybe the parents can sue their ancestors for passing along the clumsy gene too the offspring. thats who needs to be blamed. oh, if only i could sit on that jury.......
4 comments:
This is ridiculous! I'm not sure "ridiculous" or "frivolous" are strong enough words. why can't people accept that fucked up shit just happens sometimes. My guess is that this wasn't the first time she'd ridden her bike to this friends house. She probably loved flying down this hill with little (or no) use of her brakes (I would have). ANd one day she lost control and broke her noggin. It sucks, but shit happens!
- Rachael
It was her first time riding down that hill. I am her brother, i remember it every single day.
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