Following Recall Related To Brake Problems Injured Rider Files Lawsuit Against Harley-Davidson

Only days after Harley-Davidson Motor Co. officialized a motorcycle recall due to potentially defective brakes, a Texas rider filed a lawsuit in the wake of an accident that resulted in 11 surgeries with probably more to come.

His attorney alleges that 6 months before the December 2016 motorcycle accident the company was aware of braking system failures failures at abnormally high rates. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was investigating complaints about the problem since summer 2016,

According to his attorney, John Alexander Gifford was riding home from work in Austin in 2016 when he applied the brakes on his Harley-Davidson Night Rod motorcycle, lost control and slammed into trees near the road. As a result of the accident, Gifford has undergone at least 11 surgeries and suffers through “immeasurable pain,” according to the suit. “Instead of immediately contacting its customers, including my client, Harley-Davidson did all it could to avoid a recall, to blame its own customers, and to drag its feet on providing potentially lifesaving information to the owners.

As a result, Mr. Gifford literally suffered the almost complete ripping off of his entire lower torso, requiring multiple surgeries to date, His daily level of pain is excruciating.” The suit contends that Gifford’s motorcycle is one of 251,000 in the world (175,000 USA) thathas since been recalled because of defective brakes. The problem is linked to a part in the brake system that can corrode and fail without warning. According to the attorney, “deposits” can form on components within the brake system if the brake fluid is not replaced for prolonged periods beyond the two-year maintenance schedule”

10 Responses to “Following Recall Related To Brake Problems Injured Rider Files Lawsuit Against Harley-Davidson”


  1. 1 JDog Feb 15th, 2018 at 10:29 am

    Did said rider follow his Owner’s Manual and have his brake fluid replaced every 2 years?

  2. 2 Xenu Feb 15th, 2018 at 1:42 pm

    Comments here may digress into schadenfreude, but anyone who nearly had their torso ripped in half has my sympathy.

  3. 3 big doug Feb 16th, 2018 at 4:25 am

    fark there not defective,had a customer in today and asked if he had ever read the owners manual about changing the fluid every two years and he informed me he had never read the owners manual so if you can’t help yourself what can you do,and for the record we did change his fluid as it contained over 4% water.

  4. 4 coma Feb 16th, 2018 at 8:08 am

    His “lower torso almost entirely ripped off” ? What’s that supposed to mean? Did his spine snap just half way?

  5. 5 Biggles Feb 16th, 2018 at 8:18 am

    It really isn’t Harley’s fault if the bike wasn’t serviced properly. A service doesn’t mean replacing the oil and oi filter.

  6. 6 Guzzigreg Feb 16th, 2018 at 9:45 am

    Good that HD is doing something about the problem, but the important question is,can the stereo be made to be louder? I can’t hear it over my life saving pipes!

  7. 7 Kevin Feb 16th, 2018 at 2:04 pm

    Just another “blame everyone else for my problems” day here in Litigation America. Nothing is your fault anymore.

  8. 8 big doug Feb 16th, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    kevin,you are right to many people sue in your country for thing that where there own fault, we aren’t allowed to sue in new zealand,but nowhere does the lawyer say the brakes caused the guy to come off maybe he got into trouble because he wasn’t an experienced rider,would love to know what happened.

  9. 9 Lee Feb 17th, 2018 at 2:13 pm

    While I certainly can sympathize with this guy, as I went through a near death accident as well. Having a shop for many years I saw it all the time , under inflated tires , old fluids , you name it. We must be responsible for condition of our equipment. BUT , not to say defects don’t happen .

  10. 10 Pat h Feb 17th, 2018 at 6:06 pm

    Right on Lee

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Cyril Huze