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A Portland cyclist is suing Bike Gallery, Trek Bicycle Corp. and a dog owner over a 2009 road accident.
In a suit filed June 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, cyclist Michael Fitzpatrick claims he bought a Trek from the Portland retail chain Bike Gallery in 2006. The suit does not specify what type of bike Fitzpatrick bought or which of the chain's three locations he patronized.
Fitzpatrick's suit says that in June 2009 he was cycling in the bike lane along Marine Drive, where defendant Paul Johnson was walking his dog on a six-foot leash. The suit calls the leash "excessively long ... given the conditions."
The leash "crossed directly in front of [Fitzpatrick's] path" and became tangled with his rear wheel, the lawsuit says. When Fitzpatrick tried to brake, the bike "began to skid, and both front forks suddenly snapped and broke," the lawsuit says.
Fitzpatrick flew over the handlebars and landed head-first on the bike path, the suit says, injuring "two of his neck bones, left shoulder and left ear." The suit doesn't mention whether Johnson and his dog were injured.
According to the suit, Trek violated a warranty on the bike by refusing to replace the bike's broken forks. The suit also alleges the forks were defectively designed or manufactured, and it accuses Trek and Bike Gallery of failing to warn Fitzpatrick about those alleged faults.
The suit, filed by Portland lawyer Matthew Lackey, seeks $15,794 for medical expenses, lost wages and property damage, plus $200,000 for pain and suffering.
Jillianne Bandstra, marketing and sales leader at Bike Gallery, declined to comment. An attorney for Trek declined to comment. And Johnson could not be reached for comment.
WWeek 2015