From the Case Files: Cyclist Gets Injured in Hit-and-Run; Rabbi Lawyer Tracks Down Driver

This week’s “From the Case Files” segment involves a recent case I handled for an injured bicyclist here in Los Angeles.

This particular client was an elementary school teacher who rode his bicycle to work every day. One morning, as he was navigating down a residential street, a driver who was parked opened her door at precisely the same moment my client was passing by. The opening door collided with my client’s right side and forcefully pushed him off his bicycle and onto the street. He landed hard on his left hip.

The driver who “doored” my client apologized, but said she was in a hurry and couldn’t stay at the scene. She gave my client her cell phone number. We quickly discovered that the number was fake. Failure to provide accurate information at the scene of an accident is what the law calls a hit-and-run.

In the meantime, my client suffered painful leg and hip injuries. He was in his 50s and needed months of physical therapy. He even underwent several epidural injections through his pain management specialist.

Although the offending driver gave my client a fake phone number, my client remembered the make and model of her car. This is where your very own Rabbi Lawyer had to put on his sleuth hat.

My assistant and I decided to take a field trip. We drove to the block where my client was doored and walked around a bit. Lo and behold, we found a car that matched the description my client gave us. We noted the license plate number and got to work.

We were able to run the license plate, which gave us the registered owner and her date of birth. We did a quick social media search, and found the driver’s Instagram page. The client confirmed the young woman’s identity, and we were able to match her date of birth with the one listed on her social media page.

Next, we hired an investigator who found the driver’s work address. We sent her a certified letter informing her that she had 48 hours to report the collision to her auto insurance company. After that time, we advised that we would file a lawsuit against her in Los Angeles Superior Court. Locating her to serve her with the lawsuit would not be a problem since we had already been successful in locating her work address.

Guess what? The day after sending the letter, we got a call from State Farm insurance. The adjuster apologized profusely, saying the entire fake phone number thing was a “misunderstanding.” Uh-huh.

State Farm accepted 100% liability for the collision, and after months of treatment, my office was able to secure the client the policy limits in this case. And no lawsuit was ever filed.

This case demonstrates that sometimes lawyers need to think outside the box. Some lawyers would never even think of visiting the scene of an accident, as if doing so is “beneath them.” But not yours truly. I relish the investigation aspect of my cases. I enjoy donning the detective hat to discover the truth of what happened and how I can achieve justice for my clients.

This remains one of the cases I’m most proud of. What started off with a dead-end because of a driver who provided a fake number ended with a happy and satisfied client who received fair compensation for his injuries. We didn’t rest until we found the driver who injured him, and we approach every case with the same sense of urgency.

It was a win for the client. We love winning here.

How can we help you win your injury case today?

Feel free to give my office a call—I’m ready to assist, 24/6.