Settlement reached in Harley-Davidson lawsuit Paralyzed firefighter claimed motorcycle defect caused crash

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-harley-trial-1105-20101104,0,5457803.story Settlement reached in Harley-Davidson lawsuit Paralyzed firefighter claimed motorcycle defect caused crash
Motorcycling Jim McMahon 7:39 p.m. CDT,
Lawyers for a Chicago firefighter who was paralyzed in a motorcycle wreck said Thursday that they settled their lawsuit with Harley-Davidson Inc. after a Daley Center jury was deadlocked.
Jim McMahon, 53, alleged that a defect caused the motorcycle to wobble and crash on an Arizona highway in 2004. The company blamed driver error.
McMahon, of Chicago's Mount Greenwood neighborhood, is paralyzed from the chest down and requires a wheelchair and around-the-clock care.
Lawyers for both sides declined to divulge the settlement terms because of a confidentiality agreement.
The settlement was reached Wednesday after the Cook County Circuit Court jury indicated a day earlier that it was at an impasse on whether Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson bore responsibility for the crash, the lawyers said.