Facts

On Sept. 13, 2011 at 7:25 p.m., plaintiff Russell Moon was riding his bicycle while proceeding eastbound on Allenford Avenue approaching the "T" intersection of Allenford Avenue and Brinkely Avenue in the City of Los Angeles. Defendant Steven Kopald who was driving a BMW westbound on Allenford Avenue and was in the process of making a left turn onto Brinkley Avenue struck the plaintiff.

The intersection is controlled by a 3-phase traffic signal. The plaintiff was wearing bright orange bicycle riding clothing and had a bright flashing light fixed to the front handlebars of his bicycle.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against defendant Kopald for negligence and against defendant City of Los Angeles for dangerous condition of public property.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended that defendant Kopald cut the corner when making his left turn in a negligent manner and negligently failed to pay attention and/or yield to a visible bicyclist with a flashing halogen light that was properly positioned in a manner that it was clearly visible to on-coming traffic.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant Kopald contended that he made his left turn in a reasonable manner and never saw the plaintiff either because the plaintiff's light on his bicycle was improperly pointed downward and/or because the intersection was too dark to see a bicyclist because the overhead street light located at the intersection was out.

Defendant City of Los Angeles contended that the intersection was free from any defects, there were two overhead streetlights at the intersection and one streetlight that was out had no causal connection to the intersection being poorly illuminated at the location of where the collision occurred.

Moreover, the testimony of Defendant Kopald confirmed that he did not have any problems seeing objects as he approached and entered the intersection and he did not feel that the City's lighting in any way prevented him from driving in a reasonable manner or prevented him from seeing visible bicyclist.

Damages

The case costs were kept below $50,000 and the plaintiff's medical liens that were in excess of $550,000 were successfully waived in their entirety due to the severity of the plaintiff's injuries and respective limited recovery.

Injuries

The plaintiff suffered severe injuries which left him a complete quadriplegic. Specifically, the plaintiff suffered severe fractures to the C2-6 levels of his spinal cord requiring fusion of the C2-3 and C3-6.

Result

The case settled at the mediation for a total of $5,850,000 with Judge Daniel Pratt, retired. Defendant Kopald agreed to pay his $5.5 million in insurance and additionally agreed to pay $250,000 out of his personal assets. The City agreed to pay $100,000.

Other Information

The City filed a Motion for Summary Judgment seeking dismissal. MEDIATOR: Hon. Daniel S. Pratt, retired.