A 65-year-old cyclist suffered severe spinal and leg injuries when a rideshare passenger carelessly opened a car door, knocking him off his bike. Despite disputes from the defense, expert testimony confirmed his treatment was necessary, securing him a $995,000 settlement.
Plaintiff, a 65 year old male at the time of the subject accident, was riding his bicycle in the bicycle lane on a public street located in Long Beach, CA; during which time, the Defendant, who at the time was a passenger in a rideshare vehicle, opened the rear door of the vehicle, without checking for any traffic around her, causing Plaintiff to collide with Defendants’ opened vehicle door. The force of the impact caused Plaintiff to be projected off of his bicycle and onto the hard ground.
The intensity of the impact has caused Plaintiff thousands of dollars in personal damages. It is manifested that the Defendant took no attention to traffic signs or the traffic ahead of him, thereby precipitating a collision with Plaintiff’s vehicle. The Defendant was operating the vehicle in such a reckless manner, in violation of the following California Vehicle Codes: 22517 – “No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.”
As a result of his automobile vs. bicycle accident, Plaintiff suffered from injuries to his neck, upper back, middle back, lower back, right thigh, left leg, left hamstring, groin, right shoulder, right knee, right hip and pelvis. Plaintiff’s injuries were significant enough to incur $165,000 in medical expenses. Plaintiff required a host of cervical and lumbar spinal pain relieving injections, which ultimately caused chronic kidney disease, to where he now has ongoing cervical and lumbar spine pain, for which he will require intermittent chiropractic and physical therapy treatment.
Defendant disputed Plaintiff’s claims for injuries and damages. Defendant also disputed the reasonableness and necessity of Plaintiff’s medical treatment. However, through the testimony of expert doctors, it was determined that Plaintiff’s injuries and treatment were reasonable and necessary, considering the severity of the impact. Messrs. Khakshooy and Agarwal were able to recover $995,000 for Plaintiff.
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