Products Liability – Bicycle Spokes – Facial Injuries

Type of Action – Personal Injury/Products Liability

Type of Injuries – Substantial Facial Injuries that required extensive plastic surgery and dental reconstruction

Name of Case – Chapman v. EDO Corporation, EDO Sports Inc., Harrah and Blankenship Jr. t/a Velo Pro Bicycles

Court/Case No. – Henrico Circuit Court; CL96-1362

Judge or Jury – Jury

Name of Judge – Judge L.A. Harris Jr.

Special Damages – Medical Bills: approx. $21,000; Lost Earnings: approx. $39,000; Future Medical Expense: approx. $5,000

Verdict/Settlement – verdict

Amount – $286,651 against manufacturer, EDO corporation and EDO Sports alone

Highest Offer – $125,000

Experts – V. Sahay; Materials Scientist, Chantilly

Insurance Carrier – Reliance and Farm Bureau

Plaintiff’s Attorney – David M. Shapiro, Richmond; Paul McCourt Curley, Richmond

Other Useful Information – The plaintiff, a pediatric dentist, was competing in the bicycle portion of a triathalon in the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas when the carbon fiber spokes on his bicycle catastrophically failed sending the plaintiff to the pavement. The plaintiff suffered severe facial injuries as a result of the accident. The plaintiff sued the manufacturer of the carbon fiber spokes under theories of negligence; e.g. defective design, failure to warn and for breach of implied warranties. The plaintiff also sued the bicycle shop that installed the spokes on the plaintiff’s bicycle wheel under a negligent installation theory. The plaintiff’s expert testified that the design of the carbon fiber spokes was such that the spokes could withstand very little lateral force. When subjected to lateral forces most of the spokes would break in a “domino-effect” like manner with no warning to the rider. The plaintiff’s expert demonstrated the relative strength of the carbon fiber spokes as compared with the more common steel spokes. The demonstration showed that when substantial lateral force was applied to a steel spoke it would barely bend. In contrast, when very little lateral force was applied to the carbon fiber spoke it would snap in half. Evidence was introduced that proved that the bicycle shop had failed to apply adhesive to the spokes during installation causing the spokes to loosen during the use of the wheel. The plaintiff’s expert testified that the loosening of the spokes caused the wheel and the spokes to undergo lateral pressure, which because of the defective design and brittle nature of the spokes, caused the catastrophic failure of the wheel that caused the plaintiff’s injuries. The plaintiff also introduced certain customer complaints and other internal corporate documents which detailed similar catastrophic failure of the spokes. These documents tended to show that the manufacturer had notice of the defective design/unreasonably unsafe nature of the spokes and failed to warn the plaintiff.

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