TAMPA, Fla. – Motorcycle training for Florida’s beginning “bike” riders is facing scrutiny under a lawsuit filed March 2nd in the Hillsborough County courts.
A finger-pointing battle has ensued between the State’s curriculum provider of rider training, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) headquartered in Irvine, California, and the lawsuit’s Plaintiff attorneys and co-defendants.
On July 8, 2019, 73-year-old Patricia (Ronnie) Shugars of Spring Hill died of injuries allegedly sustained nearly five months earlier while taking a two-day course in basic “motorcycle rider” training. The training was executed at Co-Defendant Barney’s of Brandon, and taught by Co-Defendant Joe’s Motorcycle Training headquartered in Lakeland.
Both co-defendants’ Better Business Bureau reports display few to no complaints, based on a 10-year search, although a few online reviews of Joe’s express dissatisfaction with a few instructors.
Shugars’ daughter, Teri Chicoli, filed suit due to her death, although the complaint does not provide evidence Shugars’ death was caused by the crash she suffered while training.
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According to the lawsuit, Shugars was issued a 2019 Cam-Am Ryker, 900 cc motorcycle, claimed unsuitable for training because it was a three-wheel vehicle improperly used under two-wheel instruction, and “too powerful.” Allegedly, there were no crash safety barriers in place except for tires around light poles, and the suit claims more than the maximum of three trainees were allowed to participate based on the training property’s size.
Shugars engaged the motorcycle’s throttle instead of its brakes, causing her to crash into a boat and trailer located behind the training property’s chain-link perimeter fence which allegedly needed repairs. Shugars was nervous prior or during training, according to the suit, yet the course instructor allegedly did not assess her ability to train prior to beginning instruction.
The lawsuit states that the instructor is accused of ‘pressing Shugars’ to hurry up and go faster as she lagged other participants.
The suit also claims the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles revised its MSF training “range cards” due to dissatisfaction with how the cards guided instructors as they executed the course.
However, other states have revised the cards to fit unique needs, according to online forums.
To date, both Joe’s Motorcycle Training and MSF have filed Motions to Dismiss the case. MSF suggests Joe’s Motorcycle Training is responsible for the incident and faults a poorly-crafted complaint by Shugars’ attorneys, Kinney, Fernandez, and Boire, P.A., of Tampa.
They did not disclose Shugars’ proper training date, nor her date and cause of death. MSF also claims Shugars was informed in writing of possible injury or death, and that she signed an exculpatory waiver agreeing MSF could not be sued for training-related injuries. MSF also criticized the suit’s filing as “confusing,” contending it could not discern if the case claimed “bodily injury” or “wrongful death.”
Shugars’ attorneys amended their complaint to a “Negligence and Wrongful Death” suit on March 23rd. It reiterates the training course delivered by Joe’s Motorcycle Training “did not comply with 2011 NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) Model National Standards, which MSF helped create.” It also claims the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) completed a study noting MSF was contributing to increasing motorcycle fatalities by not teaching students the dangers of motorcycles.
Further, the Complaint’s allegation that the Department of Defense blamed MSF’s basic rider training course for causing too many U.S. military service member deaths led to the discovery of a 2013 Claims Journal report that states, “Motorcycle related fatalities continue to be a leading cause of death among service members unrelated to war.” Lisa Lawrence, Media Spokesperson for the DoD said, “We cannot comment on pending legislation,” but she has attempted to find pertinent statistics for The Free Press.
The suit also accuses MSF of attempting to profit by “dumbing down” the basic motorcycle rider training course to generate newly licensed riders, which in turn produces sales for its motorcycle manufacturer sponsors, including among others BMW, Harley Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki.
The Motion to Dismiss filed by Joe’s Motorcycle Training’s insurance company is not yet retrievable. The attorney for the Motion is Dale Parker of Banker Lopez Gassler P.A., St. Petersburg.
Barney’s of Brandon has not responded to inquiries.
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