Rider wins compo for injuries after crash on danger road

A Melbourne motorcyclist has finally received compensation after a dangerous road caused a nasty crash during a recreational ride.

An injured Jason Wilson after the accident in 2014.

A Melbourne motorcyclist has received compensation after a dangerous road caused him to crash heavily and suffer serious injuries.

Jason Wilson, now 49, was sent flying off his Kawasaki sports bike when he hit a hump of bitumen on the Mt Baw Baw Tourist Rd, east of Melbourne in 2014.

Road defects had been reported in the weeks before the accident, and two other riders had also come off in the days before.

Mr Wilson has received an undisclosed sum from VicRoads and contractor Fulton Hogan.

The Bayswater North factory worker suffered a severely fractured collarbone and shoulder that required multiple surgeries and bone grafts. He still does not have full use of his shoulder which has 13 screws and a metal plate keeping it together.

“I still have pain every day,’’ he said.

Mr Wilson was riding with a friend on the clear day in March 2014 following a car when the accident occurred.

The hazardous hump on Mt Baw Baw Tourist Road.

Jason Wilson and his bike ended up near the warning sign – well after the danger area.

“I wasn’t speeding. I was following a car and the whole thing just caught me off guard.

“All of a sudden the front wheel just went.’’

He slid off the road, slamming into a paddock fence. Mr Wilson and his bike ended up in front of a “rough surface” warning sign placed about 50m after the danger zone.

Mr Wilson has ridden motorbikes since he was a kid and was wearing full protective leathers and boots on the day.

Maurice Blackburn secured the compensation after lodging a TAC claim and a

a long legal battle. Settlement was reached at a pre-litigation conference before the matter went to trial in the County Court.

Maurice Blackburn lawyer Neha Bedi said more appropriate signage should have been erected before the accident site to warn motorcyclists in particular of the rough raised sections of uneven bitumen.

“Whilst the records showed that maintenance schedules were upheld by VicRoads and

Fulton Hogan in accordance with the Road Management Plan, there had been a number of

complaints about the state of the road where Jason came off, without any remedial action

taken,’’ Ms Bedi said.

“We argued that more immediate action should have been taken in response to the

complaints – especially considering that road had been identified by VicRoads as being in

critical need of restoration works for safety reasons.”

Mr Wilson hasn’t ridden since. He said he was frustrated that the road surface had been reported before.

“I said ‘you’re gotta be freaking kidding me’ and they’d done nothing about it.’’

A Department of Transport spokeswoman said that the safety of every road user was the highest priority.

“As this matter is part of a legal settlement, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

@IanRoyall