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In Oliver v. Central Park Sightseeing, LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 02788 (App. Div. 1st Dept. April 11, 2019), the First Department unanimously affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s personal injury complaint. In this case ,plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she fell from a bicycle that she rented from the…
Read More Bicycle-Fall Lawsuit Continues; Malfunctioning Brakes Blamed
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In Olenick v. City of N.Y., No. 23466/11, 2017 WL 1743179 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. May 4, 2017) – a personal injury case by a bicyclist injured when a pedestrian stepped into his path on the Brooklyn Bridge – the court denied the City’s motion for summary judgment and to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. By its…
Read More Brooklyn Bridge Cyclist Injury Lawsuit Proceeds Against City; Jury to Determine Whether City’s Failure to Conduct Safety Study Contributed to Plaintiff’s Accident
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In car accident litigation, a police report often supplies useful information. But is it admissible in court? That was an issue addressed by the Second Department in Memenza v. Cole, 2015 NY Slip Op 06789 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Sept. 16, 2015). The court summarized the law as follows: Facts stated in a police report…
Read More Improperly-Admitted Redacted Police Accident Report Results in New Trial Following Defense Verdict in Personal Injury (Pedestrian Knockdown) Case
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In Velasquez v. MTA Bus Co., 2015 NY Slip Op 07536 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 15, 2015), the court unanimously affirmed Supreme Court Judge Arlene Bluth’s Order granting plaintiff – an injured bicyclist – summary judgment on the issue of liability. In reaching its decision, the court cited to Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1122[a] and 1128.…
Read More Plaintiff Bicyclist Entitled to Summary Judgment in Bus Accident Personal Injury Case
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In Shenkelbakh v. Riera (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Qns. Cty Aug. 17, 2015), a personal injury bicycle accident case, plaintiff bicyclist sued after being hit by defendant driver. The jury returned a verdict in defendant’s favor, and absolved defendant of liability. The court granted plaintiff’s CPLR 4404(a) motion to set aside the jury verdict. Here are the undisputed facts,…
Read More Injured Bicyclist Wins New Trial on Liability
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Case law establishes that drivers have a duty “to see that which, through the proper use of senses, should have been seen”. In Sarac-Marshall v. Mikalopas (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 26, 2015), a personal injury bicycle accident case, the court applied this principle and unanimously affirmed the plaintiff-bicyclist’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of…
Read More Bicyclist Hit By Car Entitled to Summary Judgment on Liability
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The elements of a negligence claim brought under New York law are well settled. They are: (1) a duty owed to the plaintiff by the defendant; (2) breach of that duty; and (3) injury substantially caused by that breach. Thus, even if the defendant is negligent, there can be no recovery unless the plaintiff shows that…
Read More “Doored” Cyclist’s Case Dismissed Against MTA
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In Samarskaya v. MVAIC, Judge Bluth of the New York Supreme Court, New York County denied defendant Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation’s (MVAIC) motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff alleged that while riding her bicycle, she was struck by an opened rear passenger-side door of a taxi, which then drove off. Under Article 52 of the…
Read More MVAIC Denied Dismissal in Case of Cyclist “Doored” by Taxi Passenger
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Bajada v. Spector, 2014 NY Slip Op 05143 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. July 9, 2014): The defendant established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability by demonstrating that the infant’s negligent operation of his bicycle in failing to yield the right-of-way was the sole proximate cause…
Read More Bicyclist’s Failure to Yield Right of Way Results in Summary Judgment for Defendant Driver
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In Wittorf v. City of New York, a bicycle injury case, the Court of Appeals reinstated an approximately $2 million jury verdict against the City. The court’s decision turned on the subtle, yet critical, distinction between “proprietary” and “governmental” functions. Judge Graffeo authored the opinion. Here are the facts of this bicycle injury case: On the…
Read More Court of Appeals Reinstates $2M Bicycle Injury Verdict, Finding That Closing Road Was a “Proprietary” Governmental Function