The City of Akron Law Department got permission on Monday to pay more money to a Florida company in a bid to prove the death of a man bicycling on the Towpath Trail wasn’t the city’s fault.
Facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Sinan Li, Akron City Council authorized a $60,000 payment to Quality Forensic Engineering, an “accident reconstruction firm” based in Tallahassee.
City of Akron lawyers had previous approval to pay the company $30,000, but Law Director Deborah Matz told City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee that “there has been additional work that we’ve had to have them do” for the case.
Stephanie Marsh, the city’s spokesperson, said the company is “providing an expert engineering report in relation to the case.”
Cyclist collided with protective ramp covering power cord
Li died 10 days after crashing his bicycle on the Towpath Trail in downtown Akron in December 2022. The Hudson resident, 44 at the time, collided with an industrial strength cable-protecting “TrukTrac” ramp placed there negligently and without warning, the lawsuit states. The family’s lawyers stated in court documents that the ramp was protecting a single extension cord.
Li had a Ph.D in polymer engineering from the University of Akron, according to his obituary. He and his wife, Ying Wang, both moved from China in the early 2000s to pursue doctoral polymer engineering degrees. They had two daughters – the couple were lauded for their dedication to their kids – while he worked his way up as a scientist for Lubrizol Advanced Materials.
Wang filed the lawsuit in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas in November 2023, alleging the City of Akron is at fault for the crash that killed her husband. The lawsuit is seeking “in excess” of $25,000, which is a common demand for lawsuits seeking much larger awards .
The city, in its answer to the complaint, said Li was killed because of his “own actions or inactions,” asserting the hazard was “open and obvious,” among other defenses.
The family’s lawyers and the city spokesperson both declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. According to the court docket, a trial is scheduled for June 2025.
The docket states that the family’s lawyers deposed City of Akron employees, including:
- Director of Public Service Chris Ludle.
- Jim Batten, facilities and maintenance supervisor.
- Chris Griffith, Lock 3’s recreation coordinator.
- Kimberly Reese Glover, a Lock 3 supervisor.
CIty of Akron attorneys deposed Li’s wife and daughters in August, the docket shows.
The city needed City Council approval on Monday because the work surpassed the $50,000 threshold. Council, without comment or discussion, approved the $60,000 payment “for expert consulting services” in the suit, according to the legislation.
The family has its own experts, according to documents, including:
- Charles Veppert, who spent much of his nearly three decades with the Ohio State Highway Patrol reconstructing crashes, according to his bio.
- Dr. Ian Noy, a “human factors and ergonomics forensic expert in cases involving personal injury arising from road crashes, falls, & consumer products,” according to his LinkedIn page.
- Dr. Cynthia Bair, a professor and chair of Wayne State University’s biomedical engineering department.
- George A. Barrett, a “forensic economist and vocational evaluator.”
