Plaintiff, an expert bicyclist, was riding his bike to work early one morning when a small truck driven by a repairman took a left-hand turn in front of plaintiff. Plaintiff collided with the side of the truck, suffering a severe shoulder injury which required two operations and left plaintiff with some limited motion and a slightly drooping shoulder.
Defendant took the position that plaintiff had the opportunity to stop and avoid the collision, thus plaintiff was responsible for his own injuries. Further, defendant alleged that its driver, because the sun was in his eyes at the time of the collision, did not have the opportunity to see plaintiff.
Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, retained a bicycle expert who specialized in accident reconstruction to perform a re-creation of the accident. The re-creation indicated that, based on the probable speed of the vehicles at the time of collision, plaintiff was not speeding and had absolutely no opportunity to avoid the collision.
As to damages, defendant conceded that plaintiff received a serious shoulder injury, but pointed out that he was a white-collar worker and the shoulder injury did not impact his ability to work. Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, focused on the emotional aspects of plaintiff’s physical injury, particularly the fact that his injury limited his ability to play sports with his young children.
RESULT:
$400,000 settlement on behalf of plaintiff