Bicycle Law Develops Niche in NYC

The New York Times is reporting on a handful of lawyers in the city, who are working to fight what they believe are improper summonses leveled against cyclists,

Queens Bicycle Rider Hit By Car at a T Intersection-New York Accident Attorney Explains

My client was out riding his bicycle on a beautiful sunny Spring day this year, on a quiet stretch of road in Queens. He was approaching an intersection where cars were coming off of the Grand Central Parkway exit ramp. As a driver coming from the Grand Central heads down the exit ramp, he is left with one of two choices as he approaches the T intersection: Either turn left, or turn right. If you are going to make a left turn, you must get into the left-hand turning lane. There is a stop sign at that T intersection for cars just getting off the GCP exit. In this case, a driver coming off the Grand Central Parkway exit ramp got into the left-hand turning lane and proceeded to stop at the Stop sign. A good thing he did.

However, instead of looking to his left, which is where he was intending to turn, to check for oncoming traffic, he looked to his right and removed his foot from the brake and applied the gas. As he did so, he proceeded to hit my bike-riding client-who by the way was in the middle of the intersection, on the right side of his body, throwing him to the pavement. A trip to the emergency room revealed a fractured finger, that days later required surgery to correct. An MRI of the knee revealed damage to a tendon, which required arthroscopic surgery to fix.

In addition, my client suffered a significant shoulder injury requiring extensive physical therapy. This young man, who was wearing his helmet at the time of impact, was a computer programmer and because of the injury to his finger and surgery, had great difficulty typing and performing his job duties. Recuperation and physical therapy has helped him regain function to his finger and hand, and he performs strengthening exercises each day.

This accident was preventable. The careless and negligent driver had only to look to his left to see what he should have seen. Had he merely looked to his left, he would have seen my client riding his bike peacefully on a beautiful Saturday morning. Instead, through the negligence of this driver, my client's day was turned upside down.