MARTINSBURG - A Martinsburg man claims a woman drove her car through the scene of his motorcycle accident and caused another.
Richard B. Beverley filed the lawsuit April 21 in Berkeley Circuit Court against Heather Hindmarsh and Nationwide Insurance.
He says the incident cost him approximately $200,000 in medical bills and permanently disabled him.
Beverley says he was in an accident May 1, 2004 on Route 45 between Martinsburg and Shepherdstown and was sitting down on the scene waiting on help.
A nurse had advised him not to move so his injuries could be accessed.
"Then Heather Hindmarsh, driving her '95 Dodge Neon didn't yield to the accident scene or the people trying to direct traffic," the complaint says. "She continued on and hit my 2000cc Kawasaki motorcycle, shoving it into me, causing massive injuries to my left side."
According to the complaint, Beverley spent almost a month at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, costing $120,227.92. It adds that he suffered a stroke and will need medical care for life.
On the statement Hindmarsh provided to police, she said, "I was driving towards Shepherdstown on Route 45. I saw lights on the opposite side of the road. I hit my brakes to slow down and hit something. I got out of my car and a woman told me I hit a motorcycle and its driver that were in the road."
Beverley is representing himself. His original accident happened when a car pulled out in front of him and he had to swerve to avoid it, eventually bumping the back of the car and flying off his motorcycle.
Judge Christopher Wilkes has been assigned the case.
Berkeley Circuit Court case number 06-C-291
Second wreck results in lawsuit
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