Glenview Resident, Attorney Richard Pullano Reaches $800K Settlement
The woman slammed into a car door of an inattentive driver in 2010, but now she’s getting her legal payout with the help of an attorney from Glenview.
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A local woman is now getting an $800,000 court settlement after being “doored” by a sport utility vehicle while riding her bike down Southport Avenue, her Richard Pullano, a Glenview resident, confirmed.
The accident happened April 21, 2010 just around noon near the corner of Southport and Newport avenues. Bridgid Mullen, who was 39-years-old at the time, was riding down Southport when a woman in a parked car swung her door open into the biker.
According to court documents, Mullen suffered from a broken bone and permanent nerve damage to her left arm. Despite treatment and care from a team of doctors, she continues to experience pain in her elbow, limitations in arm movement, and decreased strength in her hand.
Bike lanes were already painted on Southport in 2010, but didn't prevent the dooring. Mullen was biking to work when the accident happened, and the driver admitted to not looking behind her to check for bikers before opening her door, court documents reveal.
“Bicyclists and motorists have to share the road. That means sharing a responsibility for the safety of one another,” said Mullen’s attorney Richard Pullano. “In this case, the driver felt it was too inconvenient to take that one extra step to avoid a potential accident. As a result, this woman’s life has been changed forever.”
And it’s something that happens more often than most bikers realize. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, 557 doorings were reported in Chicago from the beginning of 2009 through Sept. 7, 2012, WBEZ reports.
A majority of those doorings happen on the North Side, with the most common areas being on diagonal streets like Lincoln Avenue and Clark Street, WBEZ found.
In Lake View alone, there were almost 65 during the period studied, with clear hot spots like the corners of Belmont and Ashland avenues and Belmont and Sheffield avenues.
“Dangerous motorists are still a problem for Chicago bicyclists,” said Pullano. “Sadly, there are drivers out there who aren’t aware of bicyclists, or simply don’t care about sharing the road with them.”
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chris
6:59 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
When is someone going to sue ex-mayor Daley? He's the moron who put bike lanes in the streets to begin with. I guess this is one more reason to stay out of Chicago besides high taxes, ridiculous fees, predatory ticketing, inescapable bureaucracies and violent crimes?
b garrett
7:11 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
All just a racket... Highly likely many of these "doorings" are people intentionally riding up and down the street hoping someone will " door" them. And then " jackpot". These " lawyers" probably have teams of " bike riders". Yes. " life changed". " nerve pain". Just crap
patchwatcher
9:04 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
interesting how if you're driving and rear end another car it's your fault but if you're in a car and a bicyclist hits you from the rear it's your fault ? If you're getting out of your car and the bicyclist hits you is that your fault too ?
Mike Kruger
4:10 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
If a bicyclist hits you from the rear, it's their fault. But if you open your door in front of traffic (whether a bicycle, a car, or a semi) it's your fault. This isn't new.
b garrett
2:27 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
the thing to do to /hit the lawsuit jackpot// wait between 2 cars keeping an eye out for an oncoming bike rider>>>>>>>>>>step out into the bike lane just enough to get grazed and sue the crap out of the biker.........!nerve pain emotional stress afraid to ever cross the street again pain and suffering etc etc etc....10 million!$ from the malicious bike rider!