Seattle has agreed to pay more than $9 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a cyclist who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a crash in the Green Lake neighborhood, a case that has put the design of one of the city’s showcase bike lanes under a harsh spotlight. The rider, 26‑year‑old Aviv Litov, was injured in a June 2024 collision that his attorneys argue was tied directly to the way the lane was laid out.
According to KING 5, the city will pay more than $9 million to resolve the claim. The settlement closes the legal fight over whether the configuration of the protected bike lane contributed to the crash and to Litov’s life‑altering injuries.
What the lawsuit says
As reported by KOMO News, the complaint says Litov was riding on Green Lake Drive North on June 20, 2024, when a Tesla SUV turned into the protected bike lane to enter a parking lot and his bicycle hit the side of the vehicle, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury. The suit, filed in King County Superior Court by The Strittmatter Firm, alleges that the lane design, which places parked cars between moving traffic and cyclists, “creates dangerous sight obstructions” at driveways and entrances.
Where the lane came from
According to the Seattle Department of Transportation’s project page, the Green Lake Outer Loop and related paving projects added protected and buffered facilities around the park to improve safety and neighborhood connections. Those rebuilds, carried out in phases between 2019 and 2021, introduced the parked‑car buffer configuration that the lawsuit challenges.
How settlements like this get approved
Seattle’s municipal code allows the City Attorney to authorize settlement payments but requires executive‑session briefings for significant payouts, as the Council legislation text explains. The ordinance also directs the City Attorney to work with finance and budget staff before issuing payment, a process intended to provide extra scrutiny for high‑value claims.
Precedents and pressure to change design
Local precedent highlights both the financial and policy stakes: a jury awarded roughly $38 million in a 2016 case after a bicyclist was struck by a valet driver, underscoring the potential cost when crashes lead to catastrophic injuries. Advocates and bike‑safety attorneys say settlements can also drive design changes; Washington Bike Law points to prior cases where plaintiffs negotiated non‑monetary fixes or enforceable design commitments as part of agreements with the city…