Can a Bicycle Rider who was hit on a Sidewalk by a Car Exiting a Parking Lot Recover Damages?

The car accident attorneys at Peter Higgins Law were contacted by a 48 year old man with the following case:

Many towns and cities have ordinances prohibiting people from riding their bicycles on sidewalks.  Instead, bicycle riders are supposed to ride on the streets, and “share the road” with the regular traffic.  It depends on whether there are signs in the area designating that the road is a “bike path” if so, then a bicyclist should not be riding on a sidewalk.

Peter Higgins Law represented a man who was riding his bicycle on a sidewalk in the opposite direction from which traffic was coming on the roadway.  As he approached the driveway for a parking lot, he saw an SUV coming from the parking lot, down the driveway to exit.  There was a large bush at the corner between the parking lot driveway and the sidewalk, and our client knew that this might obstruct the view of the driver of the SUV, so he tried to slow his bicycle down and proceeded on the sidewalk with caution.  Never the less, the SUV driver failed to stop as he approached the sidewalk, and ran into our client, knocking him off his bicycle.  Our client suffered fractured kneecap and had surgery. 

The car accident attorneys at Peter Higgins Law filed suit against the SUV driver, and proved that our client had a right to be on the sidewalk; headed in the direction he was riding, at the time of the incident.  We also proved that the SUV driver failed to stop or yield while exiting the parking lot, prior to his vehicle driving upon the sidewalk.  After taking several depositions, the insurance company for the SUV driver made a settlement offer, and the case was settled for a confidential amount.