TheAthletesLawyer

Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau successfully mediated this college professor’s bike crash case in North Carolina.  In prior posts, the facts of this bicycle accident and the cyclist’s injuries were described.  Bicycle crash victims and other plaintiffs in negligence cases find that mediation can result in a fair result without the time and money expenditures caused by trial.

Herndon, Virginia Trial lawyer Doug Landau knew he had a strong case of liability (negligence) against the truck driver who hit his bicyclist client. The cyclist’s injuries were serious, and a lawsuit for the negligence of the driver was filed by Abrams Landau, Ltd., with local counsel, in Robeson County, North Carolina.

When the Insurance Company refused to pay for all of the injured athlete’s damages, Doug Landau filed the case in the local State Court. The Triathlon Trial Lawyer presented all of the evidence of the injured cyclist’s losses, in an effort to reach a fair compromise settlement. However, the Insurance Company refused to consider the injured cyclist’s loss of earnings. Because the bicycle tourist was “on sabbatical,” the Insurance Company for the negligent driver maintained that there was no “wage loss.” Defense Counsel for the trucker who hit the Triathlon Trial Lawyer’s client argued that since the Professor was not “at work,” there could be no wage loss for the disabled cyclist.

The Athlete’s Lawyer assembled the proof, exhibits and testimony necessary to defeat these defenses on behalf of the disabled biker. The professors who worked with the injured bike rider were prepared to testify that Mr. Landau’s client was previously: motivated, very active (he actually participated in the sports he was teaching) and physically fit (he would ride his bike to and from work, a round trip of over 50 miles !).

Since the accident, he has: gained weight, become depressed, and curtailed his activities. The injured bicycle rider also worked the night desk at a Loudoun County athletic club near his home, prior to the accident. After the crash, the injured Phys.Ed teacher was unable to return to that position, or join in the sports and social events that he was accustomed to participating in prior to the crash. This disabled biker had continuing symptomology as the result of this accident. Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau learned from the treating doctor that his injured client will need for future medical care as the result of his closed head injury. Cyclist brain injury cases present difficult issues, even when the bike rider is wearing an appropriate helmet and riding with reasonable care.

III. Damages

The cyclist sustained multiple injuries. The bike-riding professor also had a loss of consciousness when struck by the defendant who was traveling 45 m.p.h. or more. This crash caused the following problems for the injured bicycle rider:
a. Post-concussive syndrome and closed head injury;
b. Posterior neck pain and a central herniated cervical disc at C6-7;
c. Permanent partial disability rating to the dominant upper extremity;
d. Multiple abrasions, contusions and permanent scarring;
e. Arthritic changes and weight gain;
f. Depression;

This Abrams Landau client was a physical education teacher at a local Community College. The Triathlon Trial Lawyer knew the client from his second job at a Loudoun County Health Club. The injured cyclist had been with the school since 1974 ! At the time of the bicycle crash, he was earning an annual salary of $45,000.

The Community College’s documentation indicates their professor lost $4,457.33/month for the 7 month period the cross country cyclist was disabled. After his orthopedic treatment ended, the injured athlete and bicycle tourist had episodes of memory loss and loss of balance. However, the Insurance Company for the guilty driver would not accept full responsibility for the all of the injured bicyclist’s injuries.

Find out in tomorrow’s post how The Injured Athletes lawyer and the trial team at Abrams Landau, Ltd. got their disabled cyclist client full compensation…

Before a Court will allow a jury to decide on the amount of damages to award an injured bike crash victim, there must be evidence of “liability.”  Liability is often called “fault” or “negligence.”  Once there is proof of “fault” by the Defendant Driver, then the injured cyclist’s trial lawyer is allowed to present the damages sustained.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau reminds clients that no matter how serious their injuries, head trauma or brain injury, absent objective proof of the Defendant’s fault, the jury may never hear about what has been taken from them by the other driver’s negligence.

Liability

The Defendant acknowledged traveling too fast for the road conditions that day prior to the bike crash. The negligent driver was issued a ticket for driving his pickup truck “at a speed that was greater than was reasonable and prudent under the conditions.” [N. C. Uniform Citation]

The Athletes Lawyer’s research revealed that the Defendant driver plead guilty to “excessive speed” immediately prior to the bike crash. This driver, who acknowledged striking the innocent cyclist, did not seek an appeal of his Traffic Court conviction. The injured bicycle tourist was traveling at slow speed in the moments before the crash.

The Plaintiff was not riding in a peloton when he was injured, as the tour riders were spread out. This fit, middle-aged Professor was on the right side of the roadway at the moment of impact between his touring road bike and the truck. The vulnerable cycle tourist had nowhere to go because of the bridge guardrails when the Defendant’s truck struck him without any warning.

I. Facts of the North Carolina Bicycle Tour Bike Crash

Abrams Landau client, a professor at a local community college in Virginia, was on the 13th day of a bicycle tour from Maine to Florida. This was his “dream vacation.” This ultra-fit middle-aged cyclist had worked for many years in order to earn the Sabbatical Time to ride the length of the East Coast. Then Doug Landau’s client was involved in a bike crash that brought his dram trip to an abrupt, and painful end.

Traveling North on U.S. 301, the bicycle tourist was struck by the Defendant’s truck and “thrown 107 feet coming to rest in the roadway” according to the Police Report. The Defendant’s Ford pickup truck sustained significant damage skidding and slamming into the bridge guardrail after the crash with the biker. The impact with the innocent bicycle tourist occurred as the Defendant’s car tried to go around the bike between two bridges. The professor never had a chance before the bike crash with the pickup truck.

Read more about this bike crash and injured cyclist in tomorrow’s post…