Bike Accident Settlement Nets $70,000 for Victim

A young software engineer who was injured while test-driving a bicycle from a San Francisco bike shop recently settled his suit for $70,000 with the negligent driver of the vehicle that struck him. According to the suit, the plaintiff had recently moved to San Francisco and wanted to purchase a bicycle as the primary mode of transportation around the city. To do so, he went to a bicycle shop in the Mission District where he could test ride one of their bikes prior to purchase. The young man took one of their bikes for a quick spin in the residential neighborhood surrounding the shop.

The plaintiff was about three blocks away from the bike shop when a car traveling in front of him put its right turn signal on and slowed down to parallel park. The plaintiff attempted to slowly proceed past the vehicle, but without warning, the vehicle abruptly swung left and made an illegal U-turn in the middle of the street. The vehicle then struck the plaintiff’s bicycle, causing him to fly into the air and fall to the hard pavement below. The plaintiff landed so hard on his left shoulder that his collarbone snapped causing significant personal injury.

The plaintiff was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Due to the severity of his collarbone injury, he was forced to undergo surgery to reset his collarbone and repair the break by installing metal screws and other hardware in his body. He also required several months of rehabilitative treatment and was forced to miss several days from work due to his injuries.

Bicycle accidents in Oakland, CA 

Drivers are liable when they contribute negligence to a bicycle accident. In this case, the driver was 100% liable for the injuries caused to the cyclist. He made an illegal U-turn, failed to keep an accurate lookout, and struck the cyclist as he was attempting to maneuver around the vehicle.

When a negligent driver strikes a cyclist, the cyclist can recover damages from the negligent driver’s auto insurance policy. In other words, the cyclist can file a claim on the driver’s car insurance policy. Depending on how much coverage they have, you can recover up to the policy maximum in these cases. The driver might also be required to pay out-of-pocket if their policy limit doesn’t exceed the injured party’s total damages. In this case, the driver required expensive surgery to reset his collarbone. The cyclist was also entitled to recover damages for lost wages and pain and suffering. Unfortunately, the driver’s policy limit only covered $50,000 in expenses. The driver would have had to pay the other $20,000 out of pocket.

Talk to an Oakland, CA Bicycle Accident Attorney Today 

Venardi Zurada represents the interests of bicyclists who have been injured in traffic accidents with motor vehicles. Call our Oakland personal injury lawyers today to schedule a consultation, and we can begin discussing your next steps toward recovery right away. We serve the Bay Area from our office locations in Oakland and Walnut Creek.

Source:

patch.com/california/san-francisco/classifieds/other/495864/70k-settlement-san-francisco-bicycle-accident