$3,500,000 SETTLEMENT - Bicycling Crash - Catastrophic Traumatic Brain Injury

Our client was riding his bike on a State roadway when his front wheel struck a narrow 2 inch deep crevice, which catapulted his body over the bike's front wheel. His face struck the pavement resulting in a catastrophic traumatic brain injury. Due to severe deficits in cognition, self-care, mobility, feeding and toileting, he needs permanent residence in an extended care facility. The law on such cases is extremely challenging for a plaintiff requiring that he prove a defect in the road, that the state knew or should have known of the defect, and that the sole proximate cause of the crash was the defect (i.e.--that the plaintiff did absolutely nothing unreasonable). By aggressively investigating the matter, our team took photographs of the defect and retained an accident reconstruction expert to establish the defect. We located neighbors that had complained of problems with the roadway prior to the crash to prove the State had notice. We also videotaped a key independent witness early in the case to establish that our client did nothing unreasonable under the circumstances. The case settled for $3.5M and a special needs trust was created to care for our client's needs for the remainder of his life.

To view an article featured in the Connecticut Law Tribune on this settlement, please click here.

 

* Please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in other matters or cases, as each case has a unique set of facts and circumstances.