A Los Angeles cyclist who suffered a major injury after striking a pothole agreed to a $6.5 million settlement with the City this week.

In May 2015, Peter Godefroy was riding his bicycle on a “poorly maintained” street when he struck a large pothole, according to the lawsuit he brought against the City. Godefroy lost control and slammed into the pavement, sustaining multiple broken bones and severe brain trauma. He’s expected to have permanent disabilities from the crash.

Paul Krekorian, one of the 11 L.A. City Councilmembers who voted unanimously to approve the settlement, wants to ensure other area cyclists don’t suffer similar fates. At that meeting, he sponsored a motion mandating inspections of all major bike paths and bike lanes in the city, as well as a cost estimate for their repair.

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As more Americans take to bicycling, incidents like this are becoming commonplace both in California and across the country. With many cities struggling to find adequate funding for road maintenance, cyclists are often forced to navigate increasingly dangerous streets. Godefroy’s settlement comes on top of $15 million L.A. paid to injured bicyclists in 2016 alone. (There are no national statistics.)

So what should cyclists do in the event of a crash that may be a city’s fault?

While municipalities and other government entities are immune from most lawsuits, there are exceptions, says Colorado-based cycling attorney Megan Hottman. Cities typically have rules or ordinances concerning road maintenance. If they are unable to maintain the roads to those standards or, at the very least, warn cyclists about any dangers ahead, they leave themselves open to lawsuits.

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Hottman says she has handled several similar cases, including one cyclist who rode into unmarked wet cement and another who crashed in a construction area that had no caution signs where there were large gaps in the pavement.

“It’s up to cities to properly maintain the streets, ensuring they’re safe for all users,” Hottman says.

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In cases like these, timing is often key. If a pothole appears so suddenly that a city isn’t aware of it and, as such, can’t fix it, the city faces less liability than if the pothole went ignored for weeks or months.

Hottman suggests riders note any road hazards on their route and report them to the responsible agency. Many cities have websites devoted to reporting potholes and other issues on the roadways. If a cyclist crashes due to a hazard someone already reported, there will be an official record that the city was aware of the problem.

Finally, an injured cyclist should consult an attorney sooner rather than later. Those wishing to file a suit against a municipality are often working on an abbreviated timetable, Hottman says. In most instances, people have up to two or three years to file notice of a potential claim. In suits against a city government, typically that window is only 180 days.

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Robert Annis After spending nearly a decade as a reporter for The Indianapolis Star, Robert Annis finally broke free of the shackles of gainful employment and now freelances full time, specializing in cycling and outdoor-travel journalism. Over the years, Robert's byline has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Outside, National Geographic Traveler, Afar, Bicycling, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics, Lonely Planet, the Chicago Tribune, and Adventure.com

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