Mark Kreter and Daniel Boocher Obtain No Cause Verdict in Motor Vehicle-Pedestrian Injury Case

Kries Enderle litigators Mark Kreter and Daniel Boocher recently secured a victory in the Kent County Circuit Court in a civil lawsuit arising from an accident between a motor vehicle and a 62-year-old pedestrian.

According to testimony at trial, the plaintiff pedestrian alleged that the defendant driver was proceeding westbound on Leonard Street in the City of Grand Rapids at the speed limit of 35 mph. As the driver went through the Plymouth Avenue intersection, she saw the plaintiff run across Leonard Street from north to south, disregarding a crosswalk. The plaintiff crossed two lanes of traffic, entered the center turning lane, stopped, abruptly turned around, and was struck by the defendant’s vehicle.  The driver claimed there was nothing she could do to avoid the accident.

An expert for the plaintiff testified that the driver’s view of the pedestrian was not obstructed. Knowing a pedestrian was in the roadway, the plaintiff asserted that the defendant had a duty to slow the vehicle, and that failing to do so constituted negligence resulting in multiple rib and leg fractures.

Mark and Daniel argued that the plaintiff had a duty to use the designated crosswalk, that the plaintiff’s abrupt turning around was unexpected, and that the defendant could do nothing to avoid the accident.

The plaintiff asked the jury for an award of $895,000 in damages, but after deliberation, the jury returned a No Cause of Action verdict that dismissed the plaintiff’s case.