Jury Awards $38 Million to Seattle Commuter Cyclist Disabled by Valet Driver Taking Illegal Shortcut

On the evening of October 8, 2012, Thyce Colyn was riding his bicycle home from work along 8th Avenue near Olive Street in downtown Seattle, moving with traffic in a shared bike lane. Taylor Warn, a valet driver employed by Standard Parking Corporation, cut across both one-way lanes of traffic mid-block without yielding, striking Colyn directly. The force of the collision snapped Colyn's bicycle frame in two.

Colyn was taken to the hospital with catastrophic injuries: a shattered pelvis requiring multiple surgeries, a traumatic brain injury, and damage to his head, back, shoulder, ribs, and abdomen. By the time the case went to trial, he had undergone three surgeries with at least five more expected. He was left permanently disabled. His wife Amy, who had shared a love of tandem biking with him, also suffered lasting harm to the marriage.

David Beninger of Luvera Law Firm brought the case to trial in King County Superior Court. The evidence showed that Standard Parking valets routinely used the mid-block cut across 8th Avenue as a shortcut to reach a nearby parking facility. Beninger argued that Standard Parking not only failed to train its drivers against the illegal maneuver but ignored prior complaints about it, effectively turning a blind eye to a known hazard on a busy downtown arterial.

After a full trial, the jury returned a verdict of $38 million. The award broke down as roughly $7.26 million in past and future economic damages, $20 million in noneconomic damages for Thyce, and $11 million to Amy for past and future loss of consortium.

Standard Parking appealed. On January 22, 2019, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division I, affirmed the verdict in full. Standard Parking then petitioned the Washington Supreme Court for review, and the court declined to hear the case, leaving the $38 million award intact.