Flyers' Claude Giroux named in insurer's suit stemming from fender-bender

A Philadelphia sports figure is being sued over a fender-bender that

occurred in South Philly two years ago.

Claude Giroux, a professional hockey player who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers, was named as a defendant in a civil action filed late last month at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Lafayette Hill, Pa. attorney John I. Gordon filed suit on Nov. 26 on behalf of Lincroft, N.J.-based Palisades Safety and Insurance Association, which says Giroux needs to cough up more than $3,000 for damages he caused to a vehicle owned by the plaintiff’s insured, Nicole Ransom.

According to the insurance company’s complaint, Ransom was stopped in her 2011 Honda Accord northbound on 11^th Street at the intersection with Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia on Dec. 10, 2011, when she was suddenly rear-ended by a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Giroux.

The soon-to-be-26-year-old Giroux, who has played for the Flyers since 2008, currently serves as the team’s captain.

A Philadelphia sports blog says that the car accident occurred on the same day that Giroux reportedly suffered a concussion after being kicked in the back of the head while on the ice.

The complaint blames Giroux for failing to obey traffic signs, failing to bring his vehicle to a complete stop and carelessly and negligently operating a motor vehicle.

Ransom allegedly incurred damages in the amount of $3,109.79, the lawsuit says.

Her insurer maintains that it has since reimbursed Ransom for the damages and is subrogated to the rights of Ransom against Giroux.

Records at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas show that a previous complaint was filed over the matter in May of this year.

In addition to Giroux, the other defendants named in that case were Philadelphia-based Frederick’s Chevrolet and Gordon’s Chevrolet, as well as Frederick’s Chevrolet of Lebanon, Pa.

Records further show that in February, Giroux filed a cross-claim against Frederick Chevrolet and NFP Property & Casualty Services Inc.

In Giroux’s suit, the player says that at the time of the fender-bender, he was driving one of Frederick Chevy’s Camaros as part of a sponsorship deal.

Giroux said in his suit that he believed he had been covered by the dealership’s vehicle insurance police at the time of the accident.

The player’s lawyers, Lance Rogers and Kent T. Conway, wrote in their cross-claim that Giroux was surprised to find out he was covered by Frederick’s insurance at the time.

“While Defendant Frederick was willing to say anything to get Plaintiff Giroux into one of its cars in order to capitalize on his celebrity status, it is now unwilling to honor its representations,” the lawyers had written in the Feb. 11 complaint.

The record shows that attorneys for Palisades, Ransom’s insurer, filed a motion to intervene in Giroux’s cross-claim, but it was subsequently denied by a Common Pleas Court judge.

Last week’s suit by Palisades Safety and Insurance Assoc. was scheduled for arbitration in August 2014, according to the docket sheet in the case.

Ransom’s May lawsuit stated that the woman had been “violently thrown about within her vehicle” during the collision with Giroux.

She claims to have suffered from injuries to her back and other parts of her body due to the fender-bender.

In May, the local blog CrossingBroad reported that a witness to the accident stated that Ransom didn’t appear to be too hurt; she was apparently spotted standing beside her vehicle and talking “cordially” with Giroux on that day nearly two years ago.

 

The state case ID number is 131102993.