According to an email from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Engineering Dean Nicholas Jane, 20-year-old student Nathan Krasnopoler is not expected to recover from his brain injury that he sustained when he was injured in a Baltimore bicycle accident on University Parkway last month. Krasnopoler has been in a coma since the February 26 traffic crash, when a driver abruptly turned into the marked bike lane where he was riding.
Per a statement by Krasnopoler’s family, his brain damage “appears to be permanent” and it is not likely that he will regain any “cognitive function.” They have filed a $10 million Baltimore brain injury lawsuit against Jeanette Marie Walke, the 83-year-old driver that hit him. Walke has not been charged over the Maryland bicycle accident. However, plaintiffs’ attorneys contend that she violated a number of traffic laws when the collision happened.
Per the complaint, Krasnopoler wasn’t able to prevent his bike from hitting the passenger side of Walke’s vehicle as it turned. Her car then ran over him, pinning him. In addition to his Maryland brain injury, which occurred not from the impact of the crash but because his brain was deprived of oxygen when his lungs collapsed, Krasnopoler sustained serious burns because Walke allegedly left the engine on when her car was on him. Krasnopoler also suffered eye damage, facial fractures, and broke his ribs and collarbone. He went into cardiac arrest while the ambulance was dring him to the hospital.
The Baltimore car crash complaint accuses Walke of reckless and negligent driving and other traffic violations. Under Maryland law, motorists passing a cyclist must keep at least a distance of three feet from the rider.
Read the Family’s Statement, Baltimore Sun, April 5, 2011
Comatose bicyclist’s family sues 83-year-old driver for $10 million, The Baltimore Sun, March 22, 2011
Lawyers for Hopkins student hit by car file $10M suit, The Daily Record, March 22, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Bike Accidents, Nolo
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
More Blog Posts:
Family of Baltimore Bicyclist Settles Maryland Tanker Truck Accident Lawsuit Over His Wrongful Death, Maryland Accident Law Blog, December 2, 2010
Pedestrian and Bicyclist Killed in Baltimore Tractor-Trailer Accidents, Maryland Accident Law Blog, August 27, 2010
68-Year-old Mount Pleasant Woman Killed in Bicycle Accident with DC Guard Truck, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, April 20, 2010