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$3m for LA cyclist left brain damaged after collision due to poor roads and misleading signslos angeles.jpg

$3m for LA cyclist left brain damaged after collision due to poor roads and misleading signs

Signs from former designated bicycle route were still in situ
by Simon_MacMichael
Thu, Sep 29, 2016 20:05
3

The City of Los Angeles has made an out-of-court settlement for $3 million with a cyclist who suffered brain injuries when a car hit him on a designated cycle route - with misleading signage and the poor state of repairs reported to be factors involved.

The LA Times reports that the cyclist, Rabbi Shelaim Furst, was hit from behind by a car driven by Antoine Shehata in August 2010.

According to court papers, the incident happened on Victory Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, a road on which there used to be a designated bike route.

By the time of the incident, the route was no longer designated as such, but the signs remained in situ.

The victim was reportedly thrown 27 feet into the air as the driver attempted to change lanes, it is claimed, and suffered memory loss as well as brain injuries.

His lawyer argued that the city council had allowed the road to become “dilapidated,” and that the incorrect signage showing the road to be a designated bike route lulled cyclists into a false sense of security.

The City Council reportedly approved the $3m settlement without debate following what, according to papers filed by the city attorney earlier this month, appears to have been a closed session.

Los Angeles
brain injury
road maintenance
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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JRM NZ | 8 years ago
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The US legal system is different to Common Law.  (I won't enter in to whether it is closer to common law or European coded law.) But the reality is the US legal system is an example of "risk mitigation".  Any organisation which is subject to a claim does not look initially at culpability, it will look at potential liability.  Risk mitigation in this example affords a payout.  To an outsider trying to access the extent of the payout, it may seem extreme without knowledge of the precise injuries, and the income lost due to those injuries.  Remember this is the system which awarded $3million to a lady who in a parking lot took the lid off her coffee to add sugar and cream, and burnt herself.

However, as a cyclist I believe I have a duty of care not only to myself but to other road users.  If I have an accident caused by greasy rims & narrow slick tyres, am I culpable?  Possibly not.  If I went out and rode in a subtropical monsoon with the same greasy rims and narrow tyres, possibly yes. 

Which brings to mind the question, is there a better way?  And yes, there is.  Seperate the accident from the compensation and the penalty.  In NZ the ACC legislation removes the right to sue someone for causing you an injury.  You will still be compensated for the injury (granted NOT to the extent of spilling coffee on yourself while the cup is held between your knees as in the USA), yes.  And the penalty payable for illegal safety practices (shoddy safety standards are a criminal rather than being a civil offense).  The BIG loosers in this system?  The lawyers.  And 99% of us would agree that is a good thing. 

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Leviathan | 8 years ago
3 likes

So a cyclist was hit from behind on a signed cycle route? So what, they were supposed to take the signs down. So a cyclist was hit from behind on the open road. I am glad that he is being compensated, but what has the signage angle got to do with anything?

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MandaiMetric replied to Leviathan | 8 years ago
0 likes

Leviathan wrote:

So a cyclist was hit from behind on a signed cycle route? So what, they were supposed to take the signs down. So a cyclist was hit from behind on the open road. I am glad that he is being compensated, but what has the signage angle got to do with anything?

The lack of road upkeep/poor signage mean LA city/county are easily sue-able and I suspect they have more cash than the driver. Everyone in the the US legal system knows you sue the party with the most money, not necessarily the party most at fault.

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