PORTLAND, Ore. — A Multnomah County jury awarded a Portland e-bike cyclist more than $1.5 million following a crash with a TriMet driver three years ago.
Ken Flippen said he was in Southeast Portland's Brooklyn neighborhood in Sept. 2021, riding his relatively new e-bike, when the driver of a TriMet SUV hit him in a crosswalk. The crash happened at the intersection of Southeast 17th Avenue and Lafayette Street.
"I saw that TriMet had stopped, so I proceeded to go," Flippen told KGW on Wednesday. "The guy took off, didn't look my direction, I assume, and ran me over. I screamed, 'Stop, you're going to kill me.' And he stopped right on time, backed off me and when he backed off me, my leg had caught the bumper and it ripped my leg apart."
Flippen said that injury led to a serious, flesh-eating bacteria infection.
"I'm going through this pain everyday. I had to go through multiple surgeries ... I still have risk (with the leg) because when they do a skin graft, it's just a cover, so I wear this big compression sock ... If I damage this, that means more surgery," he said.
Flippen sued TriMet for negligence, claiming the driver who ran him over failed to stop for him, pay attention to his surroundings, or maintain control over his vehicle.
Court documents show that attorneys for TriMet argued Flippen was at fault for riding his e-bike on the sidewalk and in the opposite direction of traffic. Although both were true, Flippen's attorney, Greg Kafoury, said TriMet initially claimed it was his client that ran into the SUV, not the other way around.
"We were able to show that where they drew them on their diagrams was fake," Kafoury said, "If people believe the paperwork, when it when it first came through, they'd think it was his fault and it wasn't."
Video from Flippen's GoPro gave jurors a better sense of what happened, and showed that at the time of the accident he was crossing in an intersection where drivers are required to yield. The video shows the TriMet driver stop briefly, then start to accelerate as Flippen begins to cross the street. Following a five-day trial, the jury awarded Flippen more than $1.5 million.
KGW reached out to TriMet for a statement. A spokesperson provided this comment: "As further steps remain, TriMet is withholding statement at this time as we continue to evaluate the case and our future actions."