Over $75 million in verdicts and settlements in 18 years.
When you have been injured riding your bicycle on the roads you will need to know what insurance coverage is in place to help you cover your medical expenses and lost wages as soon as possible so that you can focus on your recovery.
Since opening my own personal injury law practice in late 2002, I started getting calls from cyclists who knew me and pretty quickly my practice evolved into a bicycle practice. I still do a number of motor vehicle cases as well as motorcycle accident cases, but the bulk of my law practice is cycling cases.
I have two of the top 4 Multnomah County auto accident jury verdicts since 2014.
I have also had trial successes in, Marion County, Washington County and Clackamas County jury verdicts where the insurance company was refusing to pay before trial. A $258,000 jury verdict for sternum and back injury. Allstate made no offers on the case. A Clackamas County jury awarded $7,000 in medical expenses and $250,000 in pain and suffering. $138,000 Washington County jury verdict for client with injured shoulder. Country insurance offered $1,500 as their only settlement offer.
$339,000 bicycle accident jury verdict for cyclist struck by drunk driver. GEICO's only offer was $17,000, which did not even cover the medical bills.
$667,000 bicycle accident recovery for injured cyclist. Final offer before trial was $130,000. Jury awarded $667,000. As reported in Portland's Willamette Week Newspaper Cyclist vs. New Seasons
$650,000 bicycle accident settlement for injured cyclist
$550,000 jury verdict for cyclist who injured wrist. Hartford insurance offered $30,000 As reported in The Oregonian 4/27/2006: Bicyclist hit by test driver wins $550,000 jury award: "Colbach said Wednesday that the insurer had offered Boyd a settlement of $10,000. Last week, the offer was upped to $30,000."
I have now been represented by Mike for two separate cases after I had been hit by cars while I was riding my bike. His knowledge and experience was indispensable when dealing with the at fault driver's insurance companies and the PIP claims. -->More
Ian Kennedy
Your Oregon auto insurance personal injury protection coverage is no-fault medical coverage which means that even if the accident was your fault, the auto insurance personal injury protection will still have to pay. If you don't have auto insurance, than the at fault driver's insurance should cover your medical bills up to whatever coverage limit the driver has in place. When my clients are hit by someone who does not have insurance, I can usually get them more money that if they were hit by someone with insurance.
When your medical expenses exceed your personal injury protection coverage, if you have healthcare insurance, your healthcare insurance will usually pay any additional amounts. If you do not have healthcare insurance, you will be billed personally for any amounts in excess of your PIP coverage. Oftentimes I can work with health providers to get them to wait for payment until the case is resolved.
Whether or not you have to pay your insurance company back for your personal injury protection benefits out of any settlement or award depends largely on what your attorney does early on in your case.
Mike worked with me settle to a claim after I was doored and hospitalized while riding my bike. Mike and his team helped me navigate the complex insurance and claim process and ensured that I received a fair settlement. -->More
Unfortunately, Portland's Vision Zero map details the high crash areas in Portland, and we know that we've had more cyclist fatalities and serious injuries in Portland in the last few years. Even though the complete data for the most recent years is not yet available, we know cyclists continue getting seriously injured and killed on our local roads.
2 years ago I was involved in an accident while commuting home from work on my bicycle. [...] I was left unconscious in the road for over 3 hours until my wife came looking for me. She found me unconscious, laying in a pool of blood and vomit with my helmet cracked from impact. I was left with a TBI, fractured hand and multiple contusions and lacerations that required immediate care. I suffered memory, speech, vision and auditory impairment that continues today. -->More
Steph Johnson "I think a lot of states have guys who specialize in that," said Mike Colbach, an attorney based in Portland, Ore., who last year won a $550,000 settlement for an injured cyclist.
"It's almost never the cyclist's fault, and they tend to get pretty significantly injured," he said. "Wrist, arm, and unfortunately sometimes brain injuries from hitting their head."
In Oregon in 2006, 14 cyclists were killed in collisions with vehicles, the most in the last five years. Overall last year, the state had the second most cycle-vehicle collisions in the last five years.
[The article is no longer available free online via AP (it is in their archives for a fee). The article is reprinted on some websites and blogs around the web like the above linked New York bicycle lawyers blog post of this article]