NOT GOOD! Bike rider air lifted from big cottonwood 8/26/10

[Ih8grvty]

I am sure most of you have seen this on the news since last night.
I just got an email about it, and a phone call. It happens to be a family friend.
I am not religious, however alot of his family is. The details of the accident are on the website, as well as the families requests for prayers.
The way the biking community works some of you on bogley may well know him and ridden with him.
I wish him all the luck in the world in a recovery, and congratulate his buddy Matt for keeping him alive and thank him as well.
At this point it looks very bad for Chris, he may not make it and if he does, he may well be quadriplegic.
For those that want to know more, or those that know him visit the following site:

http://christiansjourney1.blogspot.com/

[blueeyes]

He and his family are in my thoughts and prayers. That made me sick to read. So scary, lucky his friend Matt was with him.

[accadacca]

That is a tough read and a good reminder for all of us. Best wishes go to him and his family.

[Ih8grvty]

For all I know Chris may well be a member of Bogley. I have managed to spam all of my friends that are in to the topics of this site, no idea how many of them joined though. When I got the phone call about it shortly before I posted this I thought of bogely as a hell of a good way to get the message out to people that may know him, people that had seen the news and lacked any real information, and to the mountain biking community in general.
I am positive that his family appreciate the prayers and thoughts of everyone and I will pass them on to the family. Iv known this family since my birth in 71, they have more than their share of bad happen, hoping this turns out to be one of the lesser things and he is able to make a full recovery. Doesn't sound that way right now, but sometimes even though things look like a bucket of shit, they turn out all right in the end, or at least better than anyone thought they would of ended up.

[greyhair biker]

holy crap this brings back memories. I was extremely grateful for my fellow Bogleyites on my ride to the hospital. My heart goes out to the guy & his family.

[ibenick]

It's been really sobering to read that blog over the last couple of days but it sounds like he's making some big improvements. Best wishes to him and his family for a fast recovery.

[R]

Yes, that is sobering to say the least.

[Ih8grvty]

Just an update, He is doing much better. Can not hold anything in his hands, no strength. However he has done well in aided walking, and is making a huge recovery. The real problem now is that it can end at any second and he will be as good as he will ever get, and his 40 days are nearly up and thats all insurance covers, major neck injury, doing very well on rehab and better than anyone thought he could be doing, but when the insurance says to stop, no choice left but to stop and let him rot, due to money.

[Ih8grvty]

actually after clicking the blog, doing better than I thought. Not great but pretty damned good.
My information came from friday when I talked to his mother in law. suppose I should of read the blog again before I started typing and not knowing what the hell I was talking about.

Also, I had a question that I was hoping someone may know something about. I ride a bike, but its a cheap bike, and sees little serious use, in fact this summer its seen next to zero use.
I know a bit, but not anything when we are talking about special bikes built to be abused on off road trails.
Noone say him fall, just the aftermath.
When his EMT buddy got to him, he was already still and had missed seeing what happened.
His pedals never broke loose, one did, but not the other, so when he went over the handles, he face planted to the ground and the bike came on top of him.
Should the pedals of came off and let him go free? Is there a great chance that it was manufacturing errors that led to it being a more serious injury? did it not breaking free cause any more damage than if it had had let him go?

Here is the thing, His mother in law was asking me what I could find out because she is now not going to retire so that she can give them money for doctors and rehab, his family does not have a great deal of money to be able to throw at the problem, and if the appeal to the insurance company from his doctors and rehab do no good, what the hell happens? As long as he is making progress they think he should have the chance to continue making progress with with the aid of professionals.

THe entire question is if there is any opening to sue for medical.
We all know we take a risk when we go do something like this, and yeah I know, you have to take some blame yourself for what happens when you engage in physical activities.
They are simply looking at how to best help a son, a husband, a young father, to go as far as he can in life.
Right now its a matter of finding out if it woudl be a good move, if something could of been the root cause of the injury, besides his ability or a mistake he made. Part of the choice to proceed or not is based upon the truth. I was asked to see what I coudl find out because I have alot of ties to the outdoors and various groups of people. I figured of all teh people and groups i know, Bogley is a great source of information when it comes to bikes and the risks and what you shoudl expect of all the equipment and how it performs.
Any help explaining it would be great and very much appreciated.
Thanks.

[Sombeech]

His pedals never broke loose, one did, but not the other, so when he went over the handles, he face planted to the ground and the bike came on top of him.

This is why I went to platform pedals and never looked back. I broke my ribs twice, that was enough. I definitely take heat for not being a true mtn biker, but I can laugh it off much easier with healed ribs.

[cachehiker]

Wow! quite a bit of news since I last checked.

Should the pedals of came off and let him go free?

Unless he twists his foot in the direction needed to release them, the pedals are not supposed to release. However, some pedals are more prone to unintentional or forced release than others. I switched from the more secure ATAC's to the easier to release Eggbeaters a few years ago and actually wish I hadn't. Trying to clip back in after an unintentional release while negotiating technical obstacles is a bigger PITA.

Is there a great chance that it was manufacturing errors that led to it being a more serious injury?

I am not an attorney. I merely work in a product testing lab alongside a legal department.

Unless there was a catastrophic failure of the stem, handlebar, frame, fork, front wheel, front brake, etc., I think demonstrating culpability because a pedal didn't release will be problematic without a shoe permanently jammed in a defective pedal for exhibit A. Even then you might be required to produce evidence that it was installed by a qualified bicycle mechanic to the recommended torque spec and all that jazz. Shade Tree Bike Mechanics take note, especially if you're a weight weenie fond of uberlight but less than durable components. You might be good with bikes, but would a court of law consider you qualified?

did it not breaking free cause any more damage than if it had had let him go?

Without having witnessed the accident, I can't say. I've taken a few nasty spills. Getting out the pedals quick as a scalded cat saved me from serious injury in the road spill. I was going 26 mph though and being able to roll out of it was essential. I doubt getting out quick saved me from anything more than a sprained ankle and an extra bruise in any of the mountain bike crashes.

[JONBOYLEMON]

I deleted my short post.

[ibenick]

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[JONBOYLEMON]

Sorry, I dont want to detract from this thread as this is a tragedy we could all face. I have removed my comments. Lets keep this focused on ways we can help this guy and his family.

[Ih8grvty]

Thanks for the info, I will pass it on to the family, They are jsut trying ot figure out what happened, if it was his fault or equipment, and how to move forward. I know its shitty to always be thinking about legal action, how ever, IF it is equipment, then legal action does need to be taken so that it does not happen to anyone else, if its just a operator error, then legal action should never be considered. Since noone saw what happened, and he has no memory of the crash, They are just trying to find a way to keep him in rehab for as long as progress is being made.
Thanks again, any and all help is much appreciated.

[cachehiker]

"... but a breakfast sandwich, one way or another, gets to where it needs to go ..."

is good news.