$10.2 Million Verdict for Tandem Cyclists Injured on American River Bike Trail

On the evening of June 2, 2014, Ken and Carol Korsmo, a commercial airline pilot and a charter school teacher, were riding their tandem bicycle on the American River Bike Trail in Folsom. The trail is divided into two lanes, with bicyclists keeping right and pedestrians keeping left.

Ahead of them, defendants Madalyn Ashby and Julio Lawrence, who were on a first date, were walking side by side and encroaching into the right lane. As the Korsmos rounded a corner at roughly 10 miles per hour, Ken rang the bike bell to signal their approach. The two pedestrians split apart. Lawrence moved left, but Ashby turned back to her left and stepped directly into the bicycle's path. The tandem bike struck Ashby and crashed on the trail.

Carol Korsmo bore the full force of the impact. She sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, a fractured clavicle, broken ribs, a vertebral endplate fracture, and a liver laceration. Ken Korsmo suffered a concussion and rib fractures. Attorneys John Demas and Tim Spangler of Demas Law Group, P.C. represented both plaintiffs.

The defense contended that Ashby and Lawrence had reacted appropriately under a sudden-emergency doctrine and that Ken Korsmo bore fault for not slowing the bicycle or giving more warning before passing. The case went to an 11-day trial before the Honorable Geoffrey Goodman in Sacramento County Superior Court (case no. 34-2014-00170180).

On October 24, 2019, the jury returned a verdict of $10.2 million. The jury assigned comparative fault of 60 percent to Ashby, 16 percent to Lawrence, and 24 percent to Ken Korsmo. The insurance carrier had offered $150,000 before trial.