Multi-Million Dollar Settlement for Blinded Bicyclist in Pennsylvania
A multiple-million-dollar settlement was reached for a Western Pennsylvania bicyclist who collided with a car that pulled out in front of him, causing him to suffer massive brain injury and leaving him blind. Unfortunately, the driver had minimal insurance, but we were able to prove that this tragedy happened because signage placed along the roadway by a real estate developer had blocked the view of the bicyclist and the offending driver, making this an accident waiting to happen.
Using the fact that the offending driver stated that he never saw the bicyclist when he believed it was clear to cross the roadway, we studied the conditions at the scene and developed a winning theory of liability. After performing a detailed scene investigation—before we filed suit—we reenacted this tragedy in this fashion:
Computer simulations were performed to establish the timing of this collision working with the calculated speeds of the bicyclist and the SUV to show the following:
After the lawsuit was filed, depositions of the party responsible for installing the sign were taken and we established that no traffic safety study was performed to determine whether the position and size of this sign created a hazard. A team of experts, including an accident reconstructionist, roadway design engineer and human factors engineer provided the essential story to explain why this tragedy happened for one reason: the careless installation of a sign.
[For lawyers: a “pro tanto” release was signed with the insurance carrier for the driver so that the defendant builder’s liability would not be reduced when a jury found the builder liable.] We were so proud to have helped this deserving client and his family obtain a financial recovery providing the funds they will need to live their lives as well as can be hoped for given this client’s permanent disability.
