Verdict $98,099.69 Bicycle Jury Trial-Concussion/Head Injury

Bicycle Injury Jury Trial-Door County Wisconsin December 2011-3 days long. Jury Verdict in favor of bicyclist $98,099.69. ($80,000 pain and suffering)*  Lifelong bicyclist who bicycled across the State of Iowa (RagBri) eight times was struck from behind on a straight, flat, road on a sunny day. The 17 year old driver  admitted to police he struck the bicyclist just after he looked down at his radio.  After the driver lied under oath and said he called 911 (which was not true) Attorney Griessmeyer subpoeaned the driver's phone records.  The phone records showed approximately 500 incoming and outgoing text messages the day of the collision including several between the three minute period later idenitifed as the time of the collision.  The defense argued the driver texted while in his car just before he started driving.  The bicyclist was knocked unconscious and suffered permanent post concussion syndrome and a broken collarbone.  The investigating sheriffs cited the bicyclist for sudden movement into traffic and did not cite the driver even though he admitted on scene that he looked at his radio just before hitting the bicyclist on a straight, flat road, on a sunny day just after noon. Photographs taken at the scene showed skid marks crossing from left to right into the bicycle lane. The driver also admitted he did not give the bicyclist the minimum required three feet space before attempting to pass.  None of the deputies who testified at trial had heard of the three foot law.  By the time of jury verdict, a total of seven different lawyers had represented the various defendants.  The bicyclist was represented solely by Attorney Clayton Griessmeyer.  *The jury found the bicyclist 20% at fault, and the judge later reduced the verdict by $2,525.  Just before the trial started, the insurance company and its lawyer offered $30,000 to settle the case claiming they felt the jury would find the bicyclist at least 50% at fault. A mediator valued the case at about $25,000. The bicyclist did not have to pay any money back to his health insurance company for past bills or to his own car insurance company for medical payments.   This saved the bicyclist over $15,000.  Wisconsin.

To read the bicyclist's story and see photos from the trial, click here.