You have been injured while riding a bicycle. Now what? Can you recover compensation for your injuries and your damages? Cycling accidents can result in monetary recovery for injured cyclists in a myriad of ways — some of which may not initially seem apparent. We have compiled the following common situations to help you decide if your bicycle accident could be a valid legal claim.

1) Injured As A Result Of Negligence

Cyclists injured as a result of the negligence of the driver of a car, truck, motorcycle, bus or other cyclist may pursue a claim against the negligent vehicle owner who caused the collision. In some situations, this may require filing and prosecuting a civil lawsuit. The burden of proof is on the injured cyclist to prove that the driver’s negligence caused his/her injuries. Common causes of cycling accidents involving motor vehicles include:

• Failure to see the cyclist due to inattention, distraction or intoxication.
• Hit and run accidents.
• Drivers opening doors in the path of oncoming bicycles.
• Vehicles merging into bike lanes.
• Vehicles making unsafe turns in front of a cyclist.
• Collisions occurring at intersections with inadequate lighting or signage.

2) Injured As A Result Of Road Conditions

Cyclists injured as a result of road conditions — perhaps poorly designed or negligently maintained roads or inadequate signage or lighting — may sue the city/county/state responsible for the design, construction and/or maintenance. There are additional burdens of:

1. Filing a timely governmental tort claim. In California, an injured cyclist only has 6 months to file a claim for damages (Government Code §911.2.). This 6-month limitations period is much shorter than the standard 2-year statute of limitations period for personal injury claims.
2. Shortened statute of limitations. A lawsuit typically must be filed within 6 months after the public entity denies the tort claim (Government Code §945.6).
3. Governmental entities have immunities regarding design including design immunity, such as those where there are pre-approval of engineered plans and road design, etc. (Government Code §§ 830-835).
4. Governmental immunities regarding recreational immunity on private property or federal land (we explain this more below) (Government Code § 846).

3) Injured By Uninsured Motorists

Injured cyclists often do not know that you can be covered by your auto policy. This is why it is so important to have high enough uninsured/underinsured policy limits on your automotive car insurance policy. We encourage everyone to make sure that you have adequate coverage for your uninsured/underinsured policy.

4) Injured By Fellow Cyclists

For cyclists injured by a fellow cyclist, the negligent cyclist’s car insurance should cover damages caused by that cyclist’s negligent operation of a bicycle. It works in the same manner as if that person was negligently driving a borrowed car.

5) Injured On Private Property & Federal Land

In cases where cyclists are injured on public property or federal land used for recreational activity, liability is limited by immunities set forth in the government code (Government Code Sections)

6) Injured By Negligent Assembly Or Repair

Cyclists injured by negligent assembly or repair at a bike shop or other retailer, i.e., a Huffy assembled improperly at Costco is a good example.

7) Injured By Product Manufacture Or Design Defect

Product liability issues when the bicycle parts fail due to product defects in manufacture or design. A cyclist injured in this manner may have a potential lawsuit under the following product liability theories:

1. Defective design, where the bicycle fails the consumer expectation test or the risk-benefit test.
2. Manufacturing defect, where a defect causes an injury to a consumer who was using the product in an intended manner.
3. Failure to warn, where the bicycle’s instructions failed to warn of potential risks which presented a substantial danger when the bicycle is used or misused in an intended or reasonably foreseeable way.

8) Injured In Racing Competitions

Certain limitations may apply to cyclists who are injured in racing competitions, such as:

1. Assumption of the risk
2. “Ultrahazardous activity” defined as an abnormally dangerous activity
3. Also, liability can be limited by waiver (i.e., the competition application may have waiver language)

Disclaimers:

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction.  This blog is not intended to, and does not, create an attorney client relationship, an offer of employment or a guarantee of success for clients of The Drexler Law firm.  No information or representation contained in this post should be construed as an offer of employment, guarantee of success or the creation of an attorney client relationship with The Drexler Law firm, nor as legal advice from The Drexler Law Firm or the individual author.  No reader of this post should act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer in the corresponding jurisdiction.

There are time deadlines during which a case must be brought, according to your jurisdiction or state, and failing to abide by the jurisdictional statute of limitation rules can result in your case being time-barred.

 

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David Drexler is a cyclist enthusiast, in addition to being a gifted trial attorney. David has more than 40 years of experience specializing in the successful prosecution of a variety of personal injury claims, and has obtained a double board certification as a trial attorney in liability cases and trial work which was granted to him by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He knows, first hand, what it is like to be seriously injured in a cycling accident.

See also, David Drexler’s blog entitled: “How My Bike Accident Changed Our Firm.”

Meet David Drexler