Bicycle-Vehicle Collision At LA Intersection Results in $2.6M Verdict

Carolina Padilla Lopez et al. vs. Colin Wayne Erwin et al.

Case Background

On April 20, 2017, Plaintiff Lopez filed a personal injury lawsuit alleging negligence after being struck by a vehicle at an intersection while riding his bicycle. The case was filed in the California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. Judges Michael B. Harwin, Lisa R. Jaskol, Anne Hwang, Susan J. Matcham, Daniel M. Crowley, William A. Crowfoot, Theresa M. Traber, and Christopher K. Lui presided over this case. [Case number: BC658554]

Cause

On July 17, 2015, Defendant Colin Wayne Erwin was driving down to the intersection of Main Street and Strand Street in Santa Monica, CA. However, Erwin was negligent and failed to yield right of way to Plaintiff Carolina Padilla Lopez, who was crossing westbound on Strand Street in a marked crosswalk on his bicycle. Defendant Susanne Kerstin Birgitt Von den Stemmen, an employee of VW Credit, Inc., was also negligent and violated California Vehicle Code section 2121