FEATURED CASES

Paul Dansker and Doug Hoffer jointly tried this very serious injury case which involved a young Chinese man who was riding a bike and was struck by a speeding rental car while he was attempting to deliver Chinese food in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. The plaintiff sustained severe injuries including several fractured vertebrae, fractured leg and arm and brain damage.

Dollar Rent-A-Car refused to settle because they felt that Mr. J's injuries were not that serious or debilitating considering he went back to work 6 months after the accident, working in the kitchen of another Chinese restaurant. Nor did they believe he had brain damage considering that their neurologist and psychologist both stated that he was fully recovered from his injuries and that he was actually FAKING symptoms of brain damage!

The challenge facing Dansker & Aspromonte was that Mr. J. did not speak English nor did he have much education thereby leaving no paper trail or documentary evidence of what his pre-accident IQ was. Nor was he able to articulate his problems or even describe the accident in anything other than a cursory way.

Even under those difficult circumstances, Paul Dansker and Doug Hoffer proved through their excellent expert witnesses that Mr. J. was in fact brain damaged, that his brain damage was caused by the accident, and was permanent. This meant that Mr. J. would never get better, culminating in a substantial jury verdict in the plaintiff's favor.

In this case, a woman and her boyfriend approached the 65th Street transverse across Central Park on the morning before the NYC Marathon. They saw a uniformed City worker putting up barricades to close off the road they had wanted to cross on. They asked the man if it was still okay if they go through on the road he was closing. He said "Sure, go ahead." What he didn't tell them was the reason that he was closing off the road was because the part of the roadway underneath the second overpass, about a half a mile away, had a work crew and three trucks waiting to repave it because it was totally destroyed due to an underground sewer main break.

Rhonda and her boyfriend, as would be expected, rode their bikes right into the unguarded and non-visible excavation site that was in the pitch black area underneath the overpass. Rhonda's bike went straight into a pit throwing her forward, smashing her face on the edge of the excavation. Rhonda sustained terrible facial fractures, lacerations and dental injuries all requiring 19 surgical procedures, leaving her with permanent facial scarring.

The City refused to admit that they or their workers were negligent. The jury disagreed and found for the plaintiff.

As of this writing, the case is being appealed and will certainly make law in the State of New York on the issue of municipal liability for roadway maintenance.

BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

DANSKER & ASPROMONTE HAS RECOVERED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR ACCIDENT VICTIMS INCLUDING BICYCLISTS HIT BY CARS, TRUCKS, OR BUSES

For over 32 years, Dansker & Aspromonte has successfuly resolved many accident cases involving injured bicyclists.

Our cases have involved bicyclists being hit by cars, trucks and buses as well as bicycles striking defects in the roadway. Bicycle accident clients include the president of a prominent metropolitan bike club, along with many of its group leaders and members.

Bicycle riders know how dangerous it can be trying to navigate New York City's busy thoroughfares. With speeding taxis, large trucks and buses, gaping potholes, open construction trenches, protruding poles and darting pedestrians, bicyclists have to be very careful.

The laws applying to bicycle riders are often the same ones that apply to motor vehicles. Bicycle riders must obey the Vehicle and Traffic Laws of New York State and are afforded the same rights as both motor vehicles and pedestrians.

It goes without saying that a significant difference between cars and bikes is that in a car the driver is protected by a steel reinforced 'cab' which will afford him or her ample protection in most minor accidents. However, with a bike rider, there is no protection whatsoever, exposing the rider to catastrophic injuries in even a relatively low speed impact.

Bike lanes may help riders to some extent but will also cause confusion among motor vehicles and riders as well and will certainly not eliminate bicycle accidents.

The bicycle accident attorneys at Dansker & Aspromonte will help the injured party to investigate other sources of liability such as defective traffic lights, road cuts, and/or improperly painted lines. This may add to the overall coverage available to the injured bicyclist for their compensation package.

Dansker & Aspromonte has been extremely successful representing bicycle riders in their personal injury lawsuits. Call us today for a free consultation about your case.

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