My father was in a somewhat serious bike accident a few days ago. The result was a compound fracture of the ulna ~2" below the elbow, a dislocated radius, and possibly a mild concussion. He underwent surgery to repair the fracture, spent two days in the hospital, and is recovering.
The accident occured on a multi-use trail that carries moderate pedestrian and bike traffic at slow speeds. The cause of the accident was most likely a raised section of the concrete path (see photos) running parralell to the direction of travel. According to my father, he was traveling at a speed of 10mph when he went down. He thinks he may have swerved to miss a skateboarder, got his front tire caught in the beforementioned crack, and he may have hit a elevated concrete curb alongside the path as he fell; his memory of the event is not complete and I was not there as a witness. I believe a police report was filed as he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and there was an officer on scene.
I had nearly crashed in the same manner at the same place not more than two weeks ago and felt the area was generaly unsafe for cyclists. More troubling, there are similar cracks throughout this section of the trail.
I would like the city to fix this to prevent further injuries and can't help but feel they are somewhat responsible for the accident because of the condition of the trail. Has anyone had similar experiences? How were they handeled? Would talking to a local bike club about this get the city to take it more seriously? Would talking to a lawyer be a good idea? I appricieate your feedback.
Edit - Clarification
The accident occured on a multi-use trail that carries moderate pedestrian and bike traffic at slow speeds. The cause of the accident was most likely a raised section of the concrete path (see photos) running parralell to the direction of travel. According to my father, he was traveling at a speed of 10mph when he went down. He thinks he may have swerved to miss a skateboarder, got his front tire caught in the beforementioned crack, and he may have hit a elevated concrete curb alongside the path as he fell; his memory of the event is not complete and I was not there as a witness. I believe a police report was filed as he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and there was an officer on scene.
I had nearly crashed in the same manner at the same place not more than two weeks ago and felt the area was generaly unsafe for cyclists. More troubling, there are similar cracks throughout this section of the trail.
I would like the city to fix this to prevent further injuries and can't help but feel they are somewhat responsible for the accident because of the condition of the trail. Has anyone had similar experiences? How were they handeled? Would talking to a local bike club about this get the city to take it more seriously? Would talking to a lawyer be a good idea? I appricieate your feedback.
Edit - Clarification