Bicyclist Receives $450,000 In Personal Injury Suit

A bicyclist who filed a personal injury suit against the city of Columbia, Missouri and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, among others, after a 2005 accident is to received $450,000 of the $1.8 million awarded in the suit on October 28.

The net verdict of $450,000 and the total damage amount were reached through a “pure comparative fault” theory, which was adopted in 1983 by the Missouri Supreme Court. The theory holds that plaintiffs are still able to receive an award, even if they are found to be partly at fault, according to the plaintiff’s attorney.

The jury found the plaintiff, Krysten Chambrot, to be 75 percent at fault for the accident involving her, on a bike, and two vehicles. Her percentage of fault will be proportionally deducted from the $1.8 million gross verdict.

Chambrot, who was a 19-year-old student at Missouri University at the time of the accident, was first struck by a vehicle driven by Judy Pope while crossing a street. The impact threw her from the bicycle, after which she was hit and dragged by a Columbia Water and Light truck driven by Michael Arens. Pope and Arens were also defendants in the case.

The injuries Chambrot suffered in the accident required her left leg to be amputated above the knee. She is currently a graduate student at MU and an employee of The Missourian newspaper.