Bicyclist Training for Race Across Oregon 2020

Our client was finishing a long training ride in a remote area and was struck from behind by a pickup truck. The impact broke the outside rear view mirror off the vehicle and the driver sped off leaving the rider on the side of the road with multiple fractures and nightfall approaching. Unable to stand, he held up his blinky light, and another motorist stopped and assisted him. The police found the driver miles away stopped partly in the road, with a missing passenger side mirror. She was intoxicated and claimed not to know she had hit someone.  She was arrested and charged with felony hit and run.

We sued the driver and her employer, a local  hunting ranch and took depositions only to discover that she began drinking after work. The case against  the employer had to be dismissed, but we obtained the driver’s personal insurance policy limits for our client. After she pled guilty to the Hit and Run she died in a work accident so we made a claim against her estate. After the estate finally wound its way through probate we were able to obtain the entire contents for our client after her bills were paid. Then we made a demand against our client’s own underinsured motorist (UIM) policy because the amount of the driver’s available insurance and estate assets were not sufficient to pay his entire damages. Finally, we convinced the client’s health insurer to grant a substantial reduction in the amount of its lien against the recovery for medical expenses paid, and that left more money in our client’s pocket.