monsterkidz

My girlfriend and myself were coming back home to Astoria last night at 9:30. A bag left by the company doing construction snagged her handlebars and rear wheel causing her to spill. We had just started going down the Queens side so we were moving 15-20 mph tops. FDNY ambulance came and a bike cop, she was rushed to a hospital in Astoria where she received 19 stitched above her eye, and she broke her right elbow.

My question to you guys is does anyone know a good injury lawyer? I would assume she has a case, but I would really like to hear what the opinions are from here. Thanks.

poopslush

**** happens. Dont sue.

DoshKel

I don't know a lawyer, but **** dude. I hope she gets better quickly and is back on the bike with no problem soon. Its really hard to see someone you really care about spill hard. My dad crashed in front of me a couple years ago and got real messed up. Still worries the **** out of me when I go home and ride with him.

max-a-mill

dies she have insurance??? if not, maybe consider suing to get your medical costs back; but if she does...

maybe consider not being an ugly american and driving the cost of living up for the rest of us by suing the guvment for the actions of one employee...

i have no idea of the situation or how it happened but getting rich off some guys mistake doesn't seem justified to me. but maybe it is; your call.

brunning

i'm no fan of this overly-litigious culture, but if the construction people left something on the bike path that was not supposed to be there (and you can prove it with photos), which caused your gf undue medical expenses and suffering, i believe she is deserving of compensation for those expenses and whatever losses she endured.

it's likely that some laywers would ask for a million dollars claiming her life is ruined, that's stupid, but there is a fair middle ground.

shishi

Call DOT, they hire the sub-contractors. If they won't tell you, call your local Councilmember and they should be able to find out. The contractor may be willing to reinburse you for medical exp and so forth.

sickboymh

Hey sorry to hear it man. I was on my way home from Astoria at this time, was wondering what all the commotion on the bridge was. That really sucks though.

You probably don't have much of a case, eventhough NY is a comparative negligence state, with it being dark, and the typical condition of the bridge (light debris), any worker's negligence (which would be difficult to prove in itself) would be a small percent of the comparative negligence. As someone above said, "**** happens"

mrRed

Those construction guys are slobs. This morning there was a good handful of construction specific debris all over the place, particularly a bunch of nuts and bolts on the path.

monsterkidz

Yeah, I am not looking at this as a way for her to get a big settlement. But, the combination of street lights being out on the bridge and construction debris all over the place, I feel like someone should be responsible! If I ran someone down because I was riding carelessly I would be held responsible and probably ticketed. It just doesn't seem right that we are forced to suck it up, her bike and helemt are shot, and she has to miss atleast three days of work. Argh! Sorry I am ranting I still really shook up still. Thanks for all the opinions!

mrRed

If you're looking for a way to make someone accountable, try and go to the media. If you're looking to get money, file suit. You gotta figure out what you really want out of this first.

Avatar

Another problem scenario if you sue is that they might consider putting speed limits on bikes to reduce their liability. Or no bike riding on the bridge at all.

acavengo

monsterkidz, perhaps I am jaded b/c I have witnessed first hand how rude and obnoxious some of those workers on the QB have been, but I say go after them for what you feel you are truly entitled to. I am against the big lawsuits, but you bring up a few good points that you are entitled to in my opinion. There is the cost of medical expenses, the bike, helmet and as you said, lost time from work.

One thing to keep in mind that will likely come up in a lawsuit though is whether or not your gf's bicycle was equipped with lights. The law may not require you to have one bright enough to illuminate your path, but at the same time I am not sure if they are required to light the path either. It might come up that if you take that path at night and you know it is dark, that you should have lights.

As a slight aside, the selfish part of me worries that if something were to come of this lawsuit that they would force everyone to walk their bikes over at all times or worse, push to stop bike access.

Landgolier

This is a pretty clear personal injury claim, get a decent lawyer and the subcontractor's insurance company will probably settle. Don't worry that you're p1ssing in the legal swimming pool or being overly litigious, businesses operating irresponsibly have social costs as well, which is why we make them liable for their actions and require them to be insured.

Does she have medical insurance? Not a big deal, but it determines if it's your insurance against theirs for the medical and you might be on your own for lost wages and property damage, or if the whole thing will be one lawsuit.

monsterkidz

Thanks for all the "yays" and "nays", I too commute over that bridge everyday and would not want to sabotage being able to do so. My girlfriend's bike was equipped with front and rear lights, so I don't see a problem there. I just contacted Transportation Alternatives, Times Out and 5BBC (she is a member) to see what they think I should do. Thanks again guys and I will keep you posted.

jyossarian

Adam White 212-577-9710 "Representing injured cyclists and other accident victims." That's what it says on my water bottle.

Hobartlemagne 

Go there today while theres still daylight and take a picture of the site before they move the
obstruction.

luggedwithlove

adam is awesome. go see him or call him

monsterkidz

I would, but the cop actually made me help him cut the bag with his pocket knife so no one else would get hurt. But I do have some pictures from last night that some guy who stopped to help took. And I told my girl to call Adam White tomorrow. Thanks again guys be safe out there. Z

crayonsemble

sue them all to hell man,
they have tons of our money sue them to get your girl some bread.
its not like it will hurt them one bit and you may not have to work again for
many years.

jyossarian

make sure kick some bucks my way for the referral if you win.

skanking biker

There is a difference for suing someone for your own stupidity--ala my coffee was too hot--vs suing someone who is negligent and causes you harm.

Go talk to a lawyer--they'll take it on a contingent fee and prob get a pre-suit settlement

cogsci

if your gona sue, don't talk to anyone but your lawyer, they will tell you what to do next.
DO NOT CALL THE PARTY YOU MAY OR MAY NOT SUE, LET YOUR LAWYER

steelduck

I cannot believe you americans. **** happens and you are allways looking for someone else to blaim and to sue.. Jeeez...

.:Jimbo:.

You are not seeing this through. Like the OP pointed out, the girl is in lousy shape, a broken bone, and some stiches on the face, not only does this suck bad, its damn costly, and she would never had to deal with this if some fat ass construction dude moved his crap out of a bike lane. I too hate how ansy people get when something goes south, and look for some bs exuse to throw some blame around, but this is quite a serious problem on thier hands, and someone should step in to help the pair out.

Anyways, if nobody is going to atleast bring events like this up, the quality of our biking infrastructure is basically just going to continue heading downhill, and when little things like this go down, shedding some light on it, may get some needed changes.

chip thunder

Your claim is legitimate. Don't seek more than she truly deserves. Thusly both justice and righteousness are equally served.