Bicycle lawyers peddle expertise to help injured cyclists

BOISE — Chris Cook liked his plan to save money on gas and be environmentally conscious by riding his bike six miles to work — until the second time the electrical engineer bounced off the grille of a vehicle.

"The first time I got hit I made the mistake of not calling the police," said Cook. "The second time I made sure that was the first thing I did after I got off the ground."

Cook, of Boise, became one of a growing number of commuter cyclists turned into hood ornaments, a trend noticed by attorneys — especially attorneys who are also cyclists — who in state after state are touting their own cycling credentials as much as their legal skills on Web sites to bruised bike riders.

"I have talked to more commuters who have been in car-bicycle incidents in the last year and a half than I have in the previous 10 years," said Kurt Holzer, a Boise-based attorney and cyclist who said he's won several cases that have exceeded the vehicle driver's $100,000 insurance coverage.

Bob Anderton, a Seattle-based lawyer who bikes to work, said his business has climbed to 80 percent injured cyclists.

"It's through the roof, it's terrible," he said. "People are just getting hit all the time."

The two are among what appears to be a growing number of attorneys actively seeking cyclists injured in collisions with vehicles.

"I think a lot of states have guys who specialize in that," said Mike Colbach, an attorney based in Portland, Ore., who last year won a $550,000 settlement for an injured cyclist.

"It's almost never the cyclist's fault, and they tend to get pretty significantly injured," he said. "Wrist, arm, and unfortunately sometimes brain injuries from hitting their head."

The Idaho Transportation Department reported 333 bicycle-car collisions in 2006, the most in a steadily growing trend over the last five years.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported late last month that in 2006 an estimated 44,000 "pedalcyclists," mainly bicyclists, were injured in traffic crashes, and that 773 were killed. Those numbers are down about 2 percent from 2005, though the number of injured cyclists contacting lawyers appears to be increasing.