Bicycle Accident

Date: May 26, 2009
Location: Steel Bridge and NE Lloyd Boulevard, Portland, OR
Type:  Bike Accident
Outcome: 1 Minor Injury
Names: Unknown

A Portland woman was injured last week in a hit-and-run bike-on-bike collision. According to BTA Board Member Mary Roberts, the woman was riding her bicycle eastward up to the bike/ped trail junction at NE Lloyd Blvd when a southbound cyclist rounded the corner wide and collided with her. The woman then fell from her bike and was unable to get up; the other cyclist, seemingly unharmed, biked away from the scene without stopping.

The collision left the woman with a broken bone in her leg that required hospitalization and surgery. At this point, it may be months before she is able to ride her bicycle again.

We wish the very best for the injured biker and pray that she makes a full and speedy recovery.  To be biking one day and in a hospital bed the next must be a truly traumatic experience.  Our hearts go out to her and her family.

As fellow members of the Portland biking community, we at Shulman DuBois are deeply disturbed by the apparent lack of human empathy on the part of the second bicyclist.  We believe that Portland should be a safe place to ride your bike — and that includes looking out for one another.

This kind of collision also raises questions about the overall safety of Portland roadways for bikes and bikers. According to Roberts, the intersection where the collision took place is “treacherous” and “poorly designed for the level of use it gets.” In this case, the injured victim may want to consider consulting a personal injury attorney with experience in bicycle accidents about her options in this case — and to do so soon.

While the normal time limit for filing an Oregon injury lawsuit is 2 years, if the victim decides to sue the City of Portland or Multnomah County for creating what appears to be a dangerous bike intersection, she has to file a tort claim notice within 180 days of the incident.  This time limit is strict.  Failure to meet it would mean she loses all rights to hold the City or County responsible for creating a dangerous situation.

Date: April 28, 2009
Locatiion: Hawthorne Bridge
Type: Bicycle Collision
Names: Erica Rothman

There’s been lots of talk about the bike vs bike collision on the Hawthorne Bridge last Wednesday, May 6.  The man who appears to have caused the collision has not yet been named for some reason.  He claims he is an active member of the biking community, and therefore wants to remain anonymous.  Good for him, and that’s fine, but here’s what steams me up:

The victim of this bike vs bike accident, Erica Rothman, is pretty beat up, as you can see.  The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is collecting funds to help pay for her medical bills, which is nice of them, or course.  But here’s the thing:  the guy who caused this ought to be paying.  Ms. Rothman says in her account that “I don’t want to take this guy to court with the intent to take him to the cleaners or anything.”  Well, she should be made aware that she doesn’t have that option.  What she does have is the option to get him to pay her medical bills, and, if she chooses, a fair and just amount of money for the trouble she’s gone through.   If he has homeowner’s insurance, they will pay.

This office has successfully collected homeonwers insurance from a careless bicycle rider who collided with another bicycle rider.  Erica Rothman should not have to shoulder the burden of her injuries, her medical bills, her damaged mode of transportation, and the potential financial disaster this all could cause.  The guy who hit her should.