$225,000 Settlement for Bicyclist Struck by Rollerblader in Central Park
Won by The Orlow Firm.
A 59-year-old cyclist riding the Central Park loop was struck by an inline skater who lost control on a downhill, and the firm defeated an assumption-of-risk dismissal motion before recovering $225,000 at mediation.
What happened
On June 21, 2014, a 59-year-old taxi driver who cycled for recreation started down the Central Park loop, riding in the bike lane on a descent. An experienced inline skater was tracking the line where the pedestrian path met the bike lane. As the grade steepened the skater gained speed, lost control, and pitched into the bike lane directly ahead of the rider. There was no room to brake, and the impact could not be avoided.
The cyclist reached the hospital by ambulance with an injured shoulder and two broken ribs. Surgery on the shoulder followed, and complications kept him admitted longer than expected. Roughly a year on, a second operation was required to treat symptoms that had not resolved. His recovery cost him close to three months away from driving his cab.
The firm brought a negligence claim against the skater and located a personal-lines policy in the skater's name capable of funding a recovery. The defense moved to dismiss on assumption of risk, arguing that a cyclist who enters a busy public park accepts the possibility that other users may lose control. Had that motion succeeded, the case would have ended before a jury could hear it.
Adam Orlow, the firm's Senior Trial Partner, anchored the opposition in New York City's Administrative Code and state park regulations, both of which prohibit the reckless operation of inline skates. The argument was specific: an experienced skater who accelerates on a downhill and veers into a designated bike lane is not a routine hazard a cyclist must absorb, but a statutory violation. The court denied the motion.
With the case preserved, the firm moved to mediation. The skater's insurer settled for $225,000.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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