A Citi Bike rider claims a horrific crash last year damaged a nerve in his brain, robbing him of his sense of taste and smell.
Ronald Corwin and his wife sued the city and Citi Bike’s private operator Thursday for $15 million over the Midtown accident.
“This has turned my life inside out,” Corwin, 73, said. “I do nothing now but go from one (medical) specialist to another trying to find some relief.”
The Westport, Conn., man, who works as an executive planner, says he flipped over the Citi Bike he was riding on Oct. 25 after his front wheel struck a low barrier that had been installed next to the bicycle docking station at E. 56th St. and Madison Ave.
He now suffers from traumatic nerve palsy, which has left him unable to taste and smell and his doctors believe it’s permanent, said Guy Smiley, his lawyer.
“Everything tastes like cardboard,” Smiley said. “It’s terrible. He’s lost the pleasure of tasting food and of literally smelling the roses.”
Corwin — believed to be the first rider in the bike-sharing program to file a personal injury suit — claims the barrier, also called a “wheelstop,” was negligently put in his path.
The barrier is at least 6 feet wide and 6 inches high, but he says he didn’t see it because it blended in with the road.
“There were no cones or colored warnings to alert a bicyclist of its existence,” said Smiley. “It constituted a trap for the unwary.”
The city’s contract with Citi Bike’s operator makes the operator’s insurance company responsible for lawsuits involving the bike-share system and protects the city from claims.
“We are not going to discuss pending litigation,” said Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesman for the city Law Department.
Wheelstops are usually installed to prevent vehicles from backing up into Citi Bike stations, Smiley said.
The barrier on E. 56th St. is now identified by an orange construction cone and a coat of orange paint, Smiley said.
