$7.5M Settlement to Bicyclist Left Paralyzed by Faulty Sidewalk

A California bicyclist has been awarded a $7.5 million settlement after he was left a quadriplegic in 2014 when his bicycle crashed and overturned on a displaced sidewalk joint that was raised four inches by a tree root on a public street.

The victim, William Yao, was riding his bike south on Reseda Boulevard in the Porter Ranch section of Los Angeles when the crash occurred three years ago, throwing him to the ground and causing massive injuries that left him unable to move his arms or legs, according to an Oct. 4 story in The Los Angeles Times.

The front wheel of Yao’s bicycle struck the four-inch pavement defect, which the city knew about from several complaints from residents yet had not repaired or cordoned off as unusable. Yao was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, but the impact of the crash could not be prevented by the helmet.

Photo credit: iStockphoto.com/alexskopje

A confidential report prepared for council members by city lawyers “said that the Bureau of Street Services had inspected the road and noted that it needed to be repaired, but deemed it a ‘non-emergency'” before Yao’s crash, the story reported. “The roadway was also inspected by the city immediately before the accident, in preparation for cutting into the street for utilities, but ‘no inspector reported the substandard bike lane,'” the report said.

The $7.5 million settlement was approved by Los Angeles City Council, which also faces at least 16 other similar lawsuits this year from other victims hurt in sidewalk or roadway crashes attributed to road and pavement defects, the story reported.

These kinds of tragic legal cases occur every day when innocent victims are severely hurt or killed in bicycle or other vehicle crashes through no fault of their own due to the actions, inattentiveness or indifference of others. That’s why it is critical to have a legal team on your side that uncovers every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in a vehicle incident or accident anywhere in the United States.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Call MyPhillyLawyer at 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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