Riding a bike is hard. It is great exercise, a virtual fountain of youth and mood elevator. The mental benefits equal the health benefits to a rider’s physical health. But cycling is dangerous.
One disproportionate hazard of cycling is distracted drivers. We have data and studies to show that distracted drivers are as dangerous as drunk drivers. Despite that fact, too many drivers still treat as a secondary consideration their attention to the safety of others on the road. And we have found that many vehicle drivers do not appreciate Pennsylvania Bicycle Law that grants cyclists equal rights to our roads. Motor vehicle drivers are required to: give bicyclists 4 feet; slow down; look out for cyclists; pass safely; and be cautious about opening car doors when parallel parked on streets. Motorists must follow safety rules of the road respecting bicycles to keep everyone safe. PennDOT has initiated some efforts to remind unsafe drivers of their responsibilities with reminders such as the image above. But unfortunately, when drivers are rushing, distracted, or break the rules of the road, cyclists get injured. And that is exactly what happened to our cyclist client for whom we recently settled his personal injury claim against the negligent driver.
On a beautiful spring day, our client was cycling in Lehigh County having just completed an epic ride to Hawk Mountain, when a driver, blinded by the sun and distracted, turned left in front of him. Our client had no warning and woke up days later in the hospital. The driver was negligent for several reasons including, but not limited to, violating Title 75 Section 3322 Vehicle turning left, which requires that a driver before turning left to yield the right of way to any vehicle—including a bicycle—approaching from the opposite direction.
Our client’s recovery was terrifying. Before the accident, he regularly cycled over 5,000 miles a year. After the accident, he was forced to relearn to walk without falling and talk without losing his train of thought. He suffered through surgical procedures, months of hospitalization, and rehabilitation.
To protect his rights, we quickly filed a lawsuit against the negligent driver. We stressed the seriousness of our client’s injuries. We worked up his case with a fully developed and front-loaded approach to capture the life impact to our client and his family. Our approach efficiently resolved the case in the early stages of litigation to get our client compensated as quickly as possible. That is, we convinced the driver’s lawyers and their insurance companies of the value of his case, settling it for $1,450,000 dollars, less than a year after the accident. That amount we recovered for our client was the full policy limits of all available insurance coverages, i.e., we recovered the maximum possible settlement even without trial.
We are proud to represent injured cyclists in personal injury claims against negligent drivers. Check out some of our other articles on cycling and safety.
