Bicyclist Awarded $3 Million

Business Wire, July 3, 2000

News Editors and Legal Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 3, 2000

A mediation conference conducted by Jack Williams, of Williams, Penelli, Cullen resulted in $3 million in favor of cyclist for injuries sustained while riding a 1987 Univega Alpina Sport all-terrain bicycle.

Melonie Wilson, 42, of San Jose, is left an incomplete quadriplegic, the result of a cycling accident that occurred on November 4, 1996, outside of Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara, Calif. where she worked as a Senior Physical Therapist.

Ms. Wilson was cycling to work and within a short distance from her work when she approached the lip of a driveway. In order to get over the approximate inch rise she raised the front wheel of the bicycle. When she did, the front wheel separated from the fork, causing the fork to hammer itself into the spokes of the wheel. The bike came to an immediate stop, causing Ms. Wilson to catapult headfirst over the handlebars. She was wearing a helmet.

"Ms. Wilson's accident could have been prevented," said Attorney John C. Stein, of The Boccardo Law Firm in San Jose. "The bike's front wheel quick-release feature was not equipped with a safety clip, a secondary measure used by other manufacturers, such as Schwinn."

The outcome of the litigation indicated that Merida Industry, of Taiwan, Lawee Inc. the importer, and Garner's Professional Bicycle Shop, Inc. in Palo Alto the retailer had mutual responsibility in the design, construction, and sale of the bicycle. Therefore, each will pay Ms. Wilson $1 million.

The defendants contended that they originally sold a "safety hook," which was a washer with a peg attached, and which was supposed to be installed on the axle of the front wheel. When attached, it prevents the front fork of the wheel from accidentally separating. The metallurgical evidence showed that the safety hook was never installed on Ms. Wilson's bike.

Mr. Stein's research found that there are approximately 2.5 million bikes in use without the safety hook.

"My biggest concern is that about 40 percent of the bikes are used by children under 16 years old. They are the most susceptible to this type of accident. It is the parent's responsibility to ensure that the bike their child rides is equipped with the safety clip, and that the child fully understands the importance of its use," he said.

The Quick Release Device is a standard feature that comes with many mountain bikes. It was introduced by Schwinn in the `60s and was enormously successful because it allowed the consumer to change the wheel without using tools.

But the device was not dependable. In 1975, Schwinn was inundated with lawsuits due to a series of unexpected front wheel releases. Schwinn voluntarily removed the Quick Release Device from the market. Frank Brilando, a two-time Olympic participant, invented a safety retention clip, which held the wheel onto the fork even if the Quick Release Device opened or became loose. Schwinn offered the clips to the industry at a cost of about twenty cents per bike. Merida and Lawee did not use the Brilando Clip on their bikes. In 1989, the industry started to use a forged tip at the end of the fork to hold the wheel in place.

Since there is no law that requires either of these safety devices, it is not known how many bicycles today are being sold without the devices. The Consumer Products Safety Commission, according to Compliance Safety Officer Mike Gidding, is currently reviewing bicycle standards to determine if these safety devices should be made mandatory.

Attorneys for the defendants are: Richard A. Levine, ESQ, Peter M. Hart and William H. King, Mary Eileen Reilley and Erik H. Adams