Man suing Corbin for injuries suffered during motocross event at Arena

A mechanic who was injured when he was hit by a motorcycle during a motocross event at The Arena in January is suing The City of Corbin and other parties claming their negligence led to his injuries.

The lawsuit names the City of Corbin, which owns the Arena, Victory Motor Sports, the company that rant the motocross event and Shea C. Corzatt of Sunbury, Ohio, one of the riders who participated in the event, as defendants. 

Walter Richard Brotherton, a mechanic at the event held on Jan. 15, filed the suit May 3 seeking unspecified damages for the injuries he received when he was hit by Corzatt’s motorcycle.

According to Brotherton, he was standing in an area set aside for mechanics when he was hurt. While the layout of the track for the 2010 event was such that if a motorcycle ran off the track, it would not end up in the mechanics’ area, the layout in 2011 was such that one of the turns was located directly in front of the mechanics’ area, the lawsuit stated.

At some point during the racing on Jan. 15, Brotherton stated that Corzat came over a hill, but failed to make the turn and traveled into the mechanics’ area where Corzat’s bike hit him.

As a result of the impact, Brotherton stated he suffered leg injuries that required him to be airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He added that the injuries have led him permanently disabled.

Brotherton claims Victory Motor Sports officials were negligent in not designing the track to preclude the possibility that an errant motorcycle could run into the mechanics’ area.

Brotherton claims the City of Corbin was negligent in that as the owner and operator of the Arena, officials have a duty to ensure the event was held in such a fashion as to prevent injuries to individuals at the event.

Finally, Brotherton claims that Corzatt was operating his bike in a negligent, reckless or careless manner, resulting in the collision.

As of Tuesday, none of the defendants have filed a response to the lawsuit.

No court date has been set in the case.