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Jonathan Perkins.[/caption] Attorneys for a woman who was left unable to walk or speak following a September 2015 bicycle accident near Lake Mohegan in Fairfield have secured a $2.1 million settlement with the town. The settlement was reached Dec. 6. during jury selection, with the case expected to hinge on the "sole proximate cause" standard, requiring proof that a municipality is 100 percent at fault. Rubia Rodrigues, 31, a native of Brazil who was living in Bridgeport at the time of the accident, had been bicycling with her boyfriend on Morehouse Highway between Adley Road and the entrance to Lake Mohegan when her front tire got caught in a catch-basin grate. The bicycle stopped suddenly and Rodrigues flew over the handlebars, hitting the pavement head-first. The accident left Rodrigues paralyzed with permanent brain injuries, loss of speech and other physical injuries with permanent recurring pain. An amended lawsuit was filed in July 2016 in Bridgeport Superior Court. Jonathan Perkins, attorney for the family, said that, because Rodrigues had not been wearing a helmet, the sole proximate cause standard "was potentially one of many defenses available to the defendants" had a trial been held. Perkins is the owner of Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers in Bridgeport. Rodrigues' boyfriend, Marcos Nieves, had been riding about 200 feet in front of her when he heard her fall off the bicycle, Perkins said. Nieves said Rodrigues was immediately unable to speak. "The problem we had was she could not communicate after that and could not tell us what happened," Perkins said. "The closest thing we had to an eyewitness was her boyfriend. He was only able to tell us where she was found and not what happened." Engineer Charles Elias and Rick Kaletsky, a safety consultant, took depositions, in which they both concurred the accident was caused by the catch-basin grate, Perkins said Tuesday. The most likely explanation, Perkins said, is that Rodrigues was going downhill, and nearby trees concealed the grate from her view. "Her front tire got stuck in one of the grate openings which brought the bike to an immediate stop," Perkins said. The grate's opening, he said, was six inches long and two inches high. If the case had gone to trial, Fairfield could have argued governmental immunity, Perkins said. "It could have been problematic for us," Perkins said. "We would have had to prove the case of sole proximate cause. We would have had to prove the incident was caused 100 percent by the town and not 1 percent by anyone else." Perkins and attorneys for Fairfield—with the help of Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Michael Kamp—eventually agreed to settle for $2.1 million. "I think they settled because they were concerned of the possibility that we might prevail in the minds of the jury and, if we did, we could have gotten even more money," Perkins said. Fairfield was represented by Dennis Laccavole of Goldstein & Peck in Bridgeport. Laccavole did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The town, Perkins said, was self-insured for the first $500,000. The Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency paid $1 million and Chubb Insurance paid the remaining $600,000, Perkins said. Checks went out this month to the victim's conservator. Eight months after the accident, Rodrigues' family moved her back home to Brazil, Perkins said.