Attorney Richard Bernstein, who is suing the city of New York to make Central Park safer after being struck by a bicyclist while walking in the park last August, is now going after a bicyclist close to home.
Bernstein, who is blind, and is a member of the 1-800-CALL SAM family, filed a lawsuit Thursday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on behalf of client Joanne Hahn, WDIV reports. She and her family are suing a cyclist who hit her last July in Ann Arbor's Gallup Park.
The station writes:
Bernstein says Hahn was hit so hard, she was thrown headfirst from the trail and suffered brain and nerve damage.
The reason that this case is so incredibly significant is the only thing we're fighting for is we really want to make things safer and better for other people," said Bernstein. "People have to realize the dangers bikes can pose to pedestrian. And we're " not saying we are anti bike. I'm an Iron Man so I'm an avid cyclist. But, what I think needs to happen is that bicycles and pedestrian need to co-exist together, they need to be able to share the parks, share the cities, share the trails."
Bernstein was seriously injured last August when a bicyclist going 35 mph veered out of control and hit him from behind as he walked in a pedestrian lane in Central Park. He fractured his hip and pelvis. He is out of the hospital, but suffers daily from severe pain.
He is suing the city of New York to do more to protect pedestrians from bicyclists. He is not suing the bicyclist who crashed into him, saying it would accomplish little. He told Deadline Detroit that the cyclist was very apologetic and a nice guy.
Read Deadline Detroit story on his battle with New York and Mayor Bloomberg.
