WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A survivor of last month's deadly Randolph, New Hampshire, motorcycle crash and his wife are suing the involved pickup truck driver and the company that employed him for nearly a half-million dollars in damages.
The civil attorney representing Joshua and Joyann Morin of Dalton, Massachusetts, accuses Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, and his company, Westfield Transport, Inc., of causing personal injury to Joshua Morin through motor vehicle negligence. The suit demands a jury trial.
Morin, 45, was seriously injured June 21 when he and a group of Jarheads Motorcycle Club riders, comprised of former Marines, collided along Route 2 with a trailer-hauling pickup truck that, according to prosecutors, was operating "erratically."
As of Wednesday, Morin remained hospitalized at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
At the time of the crash, Morin was driving his 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle, while his wife Joyann was following the group in her own vehicle.
The lawusit alleges Zhukovskyy "caused" his pickup truck to cross the yellow line and collide with the motorcycles of Joshua Morin and others, "causing the death of seven motorcyclists and causing great bodily injury to [Morin]."
Within the negligence count, the suit accuses Zhukovskyy of failing to keep his truck within the divided travel lane, breaking the posted speed limit and failing to "maintain proper and reasonable control" of his vehicle.
Morin suffered the following injuries, according to the civil complaint: fractures of the left femur, left tibia, left fibula, left knee injuries, left ankle injuries, surgery, open wounds, lacerations, contusions and abrasions.
Other counts allege liability and negligent hiring and entrustment on behalf of Westfield Transport, claiming the company is both responsible for the actions of its employee and vehicle, and shouldn't have employed someone "unfit to operate a motor vehicle in public," as the driver's record "signaled that the employee or prospective employee was a potential danger to others."
Westfield Transport "should have known through a background check, interview and/or news accounts that [Zhukovskyy] posed a danger to others while driving," the lawsuit states.
The Morins and their attorney are claiming $452,300 in total damages, with the majority having to do with anticipated future medical expenses:
- $33,125 in hospital expenses
- $17,235 in LifeFlight expenses
- $4,600 in lost wages to date
- $350,000 in future medical expenses
- $50,000 in anticipated lost wages
Attorney Sam Radner of Hartford, Connecticut-based Haymond Law Firm is the lawyer representing the Morins. We spoke with the firm's lead attorney, John Haymond, who commented on the litigation.
"Joshua's life, as well as his wife's life and lives of the family have been altered dramatically as a result of this accident and, quite frankly, I don't know how this is going to impact Joshua for the rest of his life – he's only 45," Haymond told NEWS CENTER Maine. "But I do know this is a man who served our country well as a Marine, risked his life for our freedom, comes out of the service and becomes a full-time nurse … he's a man who's devoted his life to giving to others, so I want to give back to Joshua. It's time we give back to him."
Haymond, a motorcyclist himself, called the June 21 crash "crushing" and a "devastating blow to the community." He said he and his firm would be doing fundraising drives to help raise money for the crash victims.
The Associated Press says it reached out to Zhukovskyy's public defender, but they were on vacation and couldn't be reached. A man who answered the phone at Westfield Transport hung up on a reporter, the AP reports.