Bike Hit By Car: Spine Injury – $100,000

Our client was riding his bike on the way to work in Rancho Cucamonga. He was in the crosswalk riding straight through the intersection and was suddenly hit by the defendant who negligently made a right turn. Our client was thrown off of his bike and landed very hard on the pavement. As a result of the impact and being thrown off of his bike, he injured his neck, back, arm, wrist, hit his head, and had extensive bruising and scarring on his hip.

At the time of the accident he was taken to the ER. Thankfully he did not sustain any fractures but had significant disk bulges and herniations in his cervical and lumbar spine causing his severe neck and back pain. He underwent chiropractic treatment, saw an orthopedic specialist for several visits, and underwent physical therapy. His medical bills with insurance set offs totaled approximately $23,000.00.

We issued a demand to the at fault insurance company for the policy limits of $100,000.00. The first offer from the insurance company was a low ball of $35,000.00, considering the impact and that our client was thrown from his bike. We did not come off of our demand of the policy limits despite the insurance company saying the next and “top” offer was $40,000.00.

We continued to stress to the insurance company that a bicycle accident is more serious than an accident with only vehicles involved. Our client rode his bike to work consistently and being hit by a car has greatly diminished his ability to enjoy this activity. Also, we stressed that the client would make a great impression on the jury if this proceeds to trial and that a potential judgment well above the policy limits would be likely. A higher level/supervisor adjuster took over the case and they agreed to pay our demand of the policy limits of $100,000.00.