Nunez v. Schneider National Carriers

• Decision Date: 05 September 2002
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 99-4541(WGB).
• Citation: 217 F.Supp.2d 562
• Parties: Lorena NUNEZ, et al., Plaintiff, v. SCHNEIDER NATIONAL CARRIERS, Inc., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

217 F.Supp.2d 562

Lorena NUNEZ, et al., Plaintiff, v. SCHNEIDER NATIONAL CARRIERS, Inc., et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 99-4541(WGB).

United States District Court, D. New Jersey.

September 5, 2002.

William R. Stuart, III, Sills Cummis Radin Tischman Epstein & Gross, Newark, NJ, for Plaintiffs.

William D. Bierman, Nowell Amoroso Klein & Bierman, P.A., Hackensack, NJ, for Defendants.

OPINION

BASSLER, District Judge.

Defendants trucking company and driver move, in limine, to introduce evidence of decedent's failure to wear a helmet while riding her bicycle when she was allegedly struck by Defendants' truck and fell to her death as proof of decedent's comparative negligence in order to reduce damages. Plaintiffs also move, in limine, to preclude any evidence of decedent's failure to wear a helmet. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 in that the parties are citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. For the following reasons, Defendants' motion is granted and Plaintiffs' motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

On August 19, 1997, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Julie Nunez ("Decedent") died in a tragic bicycle accident. Decedent had been riding her bicycle in a northerly direction along River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey, along with her friend, Irvin Sessoms, when she fell from her bicycle to her death. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was injury to the head.

Around the same time, the defendant, Ronald Louis Jackson ("Jackson"), was driving an orange, 18 wheel, tractor-trailer combination in a northerly direction on River Road. His truck was stopped by police approximately one or two miles north of the scene of the accident shortly after 9:00 p.m.

Sessoms, who had been riding behind decedent at the time of accident, was the only eye-witness. According to Sessoms, an orange 18-wheel, tractor-trailer struck decedent on her left arm, causing her to fall from her bicycle to her death.

Plaintiff then brought this wrongful death action against Jackson and his employer, Schneider National Carriers, alleging that Jackson's negligent operation of the truck was the cause of decedent's death. Defendants dispute liability: Jackson denies ever seeing decedent on the road or being involved in any accident.

Nevertheless, Defendants contend that if a jury were to find them liable, the amount of damages should be reduced to the extent that decedent's own negligence contributed to her death.

B. Procedural Background

This action was removed to this Court from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County on September 24, 1999. Following the completion of discovery, Defendants moved for summary judgment, which motion was denied by this Court. The matter was set to begin trial on Tuesday, July 16, 2002.

Defendants now move to introduce evidence that decedent's failure to wear a helmet contributed to her injuries and, therefore, any damages awarded to plaintiff should be reduced by decedent's comparative fault. Plaintiffs move separately to exclude any evidence of helmet nonuse for purposes of proving comparative negligence to reduce damages.

On Monday, July 15, 2002, the Court heard oral argument from the parties on these motions.

II. DISCUSSION

In diversity actions such as this, when deciding an issue of state law, the Court must determine which state's law to apply. This court looks to New Jersey's choice of law rules, Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Elec. Mfg. Co., 313 U.S. 487, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 L.Ed. 1477 (1941), which provides that the applicable law is that of the place with the most significant relationship to the parties and the transaction. Erny v. Estate of Merola, 171 N.J. 86, 792 A.2d 1208 (2002). Under this analysis, it is undisputed that New Jersey law controls. The decedent lived in New Jersey and this lawsuit arose out of an accident that occurred in Edgewater, New Jersey.

The Court, therefore, turns to New Jersey law regarding the admissibility of evidence of a decedent's failure to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle on a roadway where motorized vehicles travel for the purpose of reducing damages. Because no New Jersey state court has addressed the issue of the helmet defense, the Court must predict what the New Jersey Supreme Court would decide on this issue. Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Bosch, 387 U.S. 456, 87 S.Ct. 1776, 18 L.Ed.2d 886 (1967); Gruber v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., 899 F.2d 1366 (3d Cir.1990).

Initially, the Court notes that evidence of failure to wear a helmet generally has no relevance on the issue of liability, since such failure rarely contributes to the cause of an accident.¹ See, e.g., Meyer v. City of Des Moines, 475 N.W.2d 181, 186 (1991). Failure to use a helmet may, however, be a contributing cause to the injuries sustained and so may be relevant to the issue of damages. Id.

Many courts addressing the so-called "helmet defense" as an issue of first impression have drawn upon their state's application of the more commonly asserted and well established "seat belt defense." See, e.g., Stehlik v. Rhoads, 253 Wis.2d 477, 645 N.W.2d 889 (2002) (principles applicable to seat belt defense also govern helmet defense); Meyer v. City of Des Moines, 475 N.W.2d 181, 186 (Iowa 1991) (failure to wear helmet analogous to issue of failure to use seat belt); Warfel v. Cheney, 157 Ariz. 424, 758 P.2d 1326 (Ariz. App.1988)(same principles apply to both seat belt nonuse and helmet nonuse).

In Cordy v. Sherwin Williams Co., 975 F.Supp. at 648, a district court in New Jersey found the seat belt analogy not very useful. The court reasoned that unlike the New Jersey law requiring the use of seat belts in cars, no law existed requiring the use of helmets on bicycles. Similarly, there was no law for bicycles like the federal law mandating that cars come equipped with seat belts. The Cordy court found these disparities to be an implicit recognition by the legislature that riding a bicycle was not as dangerous as driving a car.

This Court does not find the rationale of the Cordy court persuasive. The suggestion that riding a bicycle without a helmet is any less dangerous than driving a car without a seat belt is not convincing. A bicyclist sharing a road with motorized vehicles is often exposed to greater danger than the driver of a car on that same road. In the event of an accident, the driver of a car is at least shielded from direct impact by the outer shell of the car, whereas a bicycle offers no such protection.

The Cordy court's reliance on the absence of a mandatory seat belt law for adults is likewise unpersuasive. Although the New Jersey legislature does not require the use of helmets by bicyclists over the age of 14, see N.J.S.A. 39:4-10.1, there is legislation in place which serves to encourage the voluntary use of bicycle helmets. For example, retail sellers are required to affix to bicycles a statement promoting the use of helmets by bicycle riders. N.J.S.A. 39:4-14.4a. Additionally, pursuant to statute, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety is required to promulgate rules and regulations, including one providing that warning cards be made readily available at cost to retail sellers of bicycles stating "This Bike Is Missing One Part." N.J.S.A. 39:4-14.7a.

Moreover, helmets, like seat belts, are protective devices, widely known to aid in the reduction or prevention of death or injury from accidents. This Court takes judicial notice (Fed.R.Evid.201) of the well documented efficacy of helmets in reducing or preventing death or injury from bicycle accidents. See Waterson v. General Motors Corp., 111 N.J. 238, 544 A.2d 357 (1988) (taking judicial notice of the effectiveness of seat belts in reducing death and injury from automobile accidents).

Here, uncontradicted studies conducted by various national agencies reveal that helmets significantly reduce the incidence of death from head injury, which is the leading cause of bicycling fatalities. It has been reported that anywhere from 70 to 85 percent of all fatal bicycle crashes involve head injuries. Nat'l Hwy. Traffic Safety Admin., State Legislative Fact Sheet (April 2002); see also National Safety Council, Fact Sheet Library: Enjoy Safe Bicycling, http:// www.nsc.org/library/facts/bicycle. htm (last visited July 11, 2002). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation, "[b]icycle helmets are 85 to 88 percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, making the use of helmets the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes." U.S. Dept. Of Trans. Nat'l Hwy. Traffic Safety Admin., State Legislative Fact Sheet (April 2002); see also Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute ("BHSI"), A Compendium of Statistics from Various Sources, http:// www.bhsi.org/stats.htm (last visited July 11, 2002). Indeed, numerous organizations, including the NHTSA, the BHSI and the National Safety Council promote the use of helmets by all cyclists. Id.; see also Nat'l Safety Council, Fact Sheet Library: Enjoy Safe Bicycling, http:// www.nsc.org/library/facts/bicycle.htm (last visited July 11, 2002).

At this juncture, the effectiveness of helmets in reducing death and injury from bicycle accidents cannot reasonably be disputed: wearing a helmet on a bicycle, like wearing a seat belt in a car, can prevent or reduce accident related injuries and fatalities. It is, therefore, appropriate to examine the genesis of the seat belt defense in New Jersey for purposes of the availability of a helmet defense.

Because New Jersey law controls, this Court turns to New Jersey law. In Waterson, 111 N.J. 238, 544 A.2d 357, the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether a motorist's failure to wear a seat belt could serve to reduce damages in a strict liability action. It is critical to recognize that...