Trial Magazine

As Sarah Thomas, who was in her late 50s, rode her bicycle through a crosswalk at a Baltimore intersection, the driver of a Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) bus attempted to turn right on red. The driver ran over Thomas, crushing her left leg and ankle. She required several surgeries, including placement of surgical rods and screws, and extensive rehabilitation.

Thomas, whose medical expenses totaled approximately $184,800, experiences left lower extremity pain and has a limited ability to walk. She also has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Thomas sued the MTA, alleging its driver failed to look before making the turn. The trial court granted the plaintiff summary judgment on liability.

The parties settled for $1.2 million.

Citation: Thomas v. Md. Transit Admin., No. 24-C-17-006656 (Md. Cir. Ct. Baltimore Cnty. Jan. 31, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Michael J. Belsky, Catherine Dickinson, and Randall Craig, all of Baltimore.

Defense experts: Louis Halikman, orthopedic surgery, and James Carlton, plastic surgery, both of Baltimore; Thomas Borzilleri, economics, Bethesda, Md.; and David Rineholt, accident reconstruction, Cambridge, Md.