City Council Settles Bike Accident Suit

The City Council approved a $100,000 settlement last week with a girl who was injured while riding her bicycle on a city sidewalk two years ago.

Michelle Bowman was 7 when she hit a crack in the sidewalk and was thrown over the handlebars, fracturing her elbow, said her attorney, Max A. Sauler, who handled her lawsuit. The crack in the sidewalk had been pointed out to city officials at least two years before the accident, Sauler said.

The girl, who worked as a model, had to cancel jobs because of her injury and will suffer some permanent damage to the range of motion of her elbow, Sauler said.

The agreement must still be approved by a judge, but no date for a hearing has been set, Sauler said. When the agreement is final, the funds remaining after paying medical bills and attorney fees will be put into a trust account for Bowman until she turns 18.