December 2016: John Alexander Gifford was riding his Harley-Davidson Night Rod motorcycle home from work. When he put on the brakes, they malfunctioned, causing him to lose control of the bike, crash into trees by the side of the road, and sustain critical injuries that required various surgeries.[43] On Gifford's behalf, Hilliard filed suit against Harley-Davidson (HD), stating that the company knew about the brake defect months before the accident. In 2018, HD issued a recall for more than 175,000 US motorcycles with the brake defect.[44]