Leigh L. - Bike Accident Litigation
In 2001, Leigh L was a 28 year-old competitive tri-athlete working toward a Ph.D. in industrial psychology when a collision with a car while bike riding derailed her life. On a pleasant Seattle afternoon, Leigh was training with a friend when a young inattentive driver made a left turn directly in front of her on a residential street. Though the impact occurred at relatively low speed, Leigh’s helmeted head still left a dent in the SUV’s frame. The impact threw Leigh off her bike and onto the pavement where she lost consciousness for several minutes. Evaluated at Harborview medical Center, Leigh was released the same day with a diagnosis of a concussion and a shoulder injury of undetermined severity.
Only the passage of time would reveal that Leigh’s “mild” traumatic brain injury would have profound effects on her cognition, including her memory, ability to focus, and to follow sequential directions. Her husband was shocked to see the degree to which his wife’s well-honed mind was struggling to work. Leigh ended up attending an out patient cognitive rehabilitation facility for over two months. While she went on to obtain her Ph.D., it was a constant struggle to cope with her impaired ability to concentrate and now constant headaches. To make matters worse, her shoulder injury turned out to be serious and the source of chronic pain. Leigh’s extensive recovery from her injuries is a testament to her drive and determination.
Marler Clark filed suit to prevent the running of the statute of limitations and then prepared an extensive, well-documented demand package that covering all aspects of Leigh’s case. This included input from her treating orthopedist, a neuropsychologist we sent her to in order to evaluate the nature and extent of her brain injury and a vocational expert who evaluated the impact of the brain injury on Leigh’s ability to work in the future. In a typical move, the driver’s insurance company had Leigh evaluated by its own experts who concluded that she was essentially unchanged from her pre-accident status. Only after extensive negotiations, and one mediation which failed to resolve the case, were we able to convince the insurer to pay a sum commensurate with Leigh’s injuries. Her case is a reminder that many injuries do not become fully apparent until considerable time has passed and a rush to settlement can be disastrous for the unrepresented accident victim.