$1.6 Million Verdict for Cyclist Injured in Bike-on-Bike Collision Near Piedmont Park

On March 29, 2021, a 30-year-old man was riding his bicycle east along 10th Street in Midtown Atlanta, traveling in the designated bike lane near Piedmont Park. A second cyclist, also 30, was moving in the opposite direction in the adjacent motor vehicle lane. The defendant abruptly cut right, crossing from the car lane into the bike lane, and the two bicycles collided head-on.

The impact caused serious injuries to the plaintiff's hands and wrists that required multiple surgeries and more than 50 physical therapy sessions. The pain persisted for nearly three years after the accident. Because cyclists typically carry no bicycle-specific liability coverage, the plaintiff's legal team filed the claim against the defendant's homeowner's insurance policy, which carried an umbrella provision through State Farm.

For three years, attorneys Darren Tobin and Campbell Walker pressed State Farm to recognize the full value of the case, repeatedly warning the insurer that a jury would exceed $1 million. State Farm's highest offer during that period was $430,000. The plaintiff countered at $1.2 million; State Farm declined, and the case went to trial.

At trial, Tobin and Walker made a deliberate choice not to put the plaintiff's medical bills into evidence. Introducing a $160,000-plus bill, they reasoned, would anchor juror thinking to that number. Instead, they focused the jury entirely on the plaintiff's ongoing pain and suffering, the duration of his recovery, and the impact on his daily life.

After a four-day trial before a jury of eight women and four men in Fulton County State Court, the jury returned a verdict of $1,600,000 on January 25, 2023. The Daily Report, published on Law.com, reported the result in January 2024, noting it was the largest jury verdict in Georgia history for a bicycle-on-bicycle collision. No post-verdict reduction or appeal was reported.