California Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Bicycle Accidents Can Cause Serious Injuries

Cyclists do not have seat belts, airbags, vehicle frames, or the other protections available to people inside passenger vehicles. A cyclist may first be struck by a vehicle and then suffer another impact with the pavement, a curb, parked vehicle, or another object.

Common injuries can include concussions, traumatic brain injuries, facial fractures, dental injuries, broken wrists and arms, shoulder injuries, collarbone fractures, neck and back injuries, spinal trauma, hip and leg injuries, internal injuries, road rash, and permanent scarring. Some riders require surgery, physical therapy, rehabilitation, or significant time away from work, while others may experience long-term limitations affecting employment, mobility, independence, and their ability to return to cycling.

Learn more about common injuries in California bicycle accident cases and brain injury claims.

Common Causes of California Bicycle Accidents

Bicycle crashes can happen when motorists fail to yield, make unsafe right or left turns, enter bicycle lanes, pass too closely, run traffic signals, exit driveways without seeing a cyclist, or simply fail to pay attention.

Some of the most bicycle-specific collisions involve bike lanes, distracted drivers, dooring accidents, and hit-and-runs. A driver looking at a phone or navigation system may drift into a bike lane or turn across a cyclist’s path. A driver or passenger may open a vehicle door directly in front of an approaching rider. In other cases, a motorist may strike a cyclist and leave the scene before providing identifying or insurance information.

These situations are addressed in greater detail in our resources on bicycle accidents caused by distracted drivers, dooring bicycle accidents, and hit-and-run bicycle accidents.

Bike Lane, Intersection, and Turning Accidents

Bike lanes can provide designated roadway space for cyclists, but they do not eliminate conflicts with motor vehicles. A driver may turn across a bicycle lane, drift into it, pull toward the curb, stop in the cyclist’s path, or cross the lane while entering or leaving a driveway.

Intersections can be especially dangerous because drivers and cyclists may be moving in several directions at once. Right-turn crashes may occur when a driver passes a cyclist and then turns across the rider’s path. Left-turn crashes can happen when a vehicle turns in front of an approaching bicycle.

When responsibility is disputed, traffic signals, roadway markings, vehicle positions, surveillance footage, bicycle damage, and witness statements may help explain how the collision occurred.

Who May Be Liable for a Bicycle Accident?

The driver who struck the cyclist may be responsible, but some cases involve additional parties. Depending on the circumstances, potential parties may include the vehicle owner, driver’s employer, delivery company, rideshare company, trucking company, transit agency, contractor, property owner, or government entity.

For example, a cyclist may be struck by a delivery driver who was working at the time. Another accident may involve both a dangerous road condition and a motorist who failed to avoid the cyclist. A rideshare or commercial vehicle crash may involve additional insurance and business relationships beyond the individual driver.

Identifying every potentially responsible party can affect both the available evidence and insurance coverage. Read more about who may be liable in a California bicycle accident.

California Bicycle Laws Can Affect a Crash Investigation

Bicycle accident claims frequently involve questions about right of way, bike lanes, roadway position, passing distance, traffic signals, nighttime visibility, helmets, turning movements, and e-bike rules.

Cyclists have responsibilities when using California roads, but motorists also have obligations when turning, passing, entering traffic, and sharing the roadway with bicycles. A claimed traffic violation should therefore be evaluated in the context of the entire collision rather than treated as automatic proof of fault.

A driver may argue that the cyclist was outside a bike lane or difficult to see. The cyclist may point to an unsafe turn, close pass, opening vehicle door, or road hazard. The evidence and complete sequence of events matter.

Read our guide to California bicycle laws every cyclist should know.

What to Do and What Evidence May Help After a Bicycle Accident

After a serious bicycle accident, immediate health and safety should come first. Depending on the circumstances, it may also be useful to report the crash, identify the driver and vehicle, obtain insurance information, photograph the scene, document bicycle and vehicle damage, gather witness information, and identify nearby cameras.

The bicycle, helmet, clothing, cycling computer, and other damaged equipment may also become important evidence. Video from businesses, homes, traffic cameras, buses, or dash cameras can sometimes show the moments immediately before the collision.

Medical records, employment documentation, repair estimates, accident-related expenses, and insurance communications may help document the effects of the crash. Because surveillance footage and physical evidence can disappear quickly, evidence preservation may matter long before the lawsuit deadline approaches.

Read our complete guide on what to do after a bicycle accident in California.

How Much Is a California Bicycle Accident Case Worth?

There is no reliable average settlement for a California bicycle accident. Case value depends on the individual injuries, treatment, evidence, liability issues, and available insurance.

Important factors may include the severity of the cyclist’s injuries, medical expenses, surgery, future care, lost income, reduced earning ability, permanent limitations, facial injuries, scarring, emotional effects, and the strength of the evidence establishing responsibility.

A cyclist who recovers after relatively limited treatment will have a very different damages picture from someone who suffers a traumatic brain injury, requires multiple surgeries, develops permanent scarring, or cannot return to the same occupation.

Read more about how much a California bicycle accident case may be worth.

Bicycle Accident Deadlines and Government Claims

California bicycle accident deadlines depend on who may be responsible and the type of claim involved. An ordinary private-party personal injury case generally follows a different framework from a case involving a city, county, public transit agency, dangerous public roadway, or another government entity.

Government-related claims can have much earlier preliminary requirements. This may become important when a cyclist is injured because of a dangerous road condition, construction problem, public bus, or another publicly controlled condition.

Hit-and-run insurance issues, minors, wrongful death cases, and property damage can also create additional timing questions. Cyclists should not assume that every accident follows the same deadline.

Read our guide on how long you may have to file a bicycle accident claim in California.

California Bicycle Accident Resources and How DAG Law Firm Can Help

DAG Law Firm’s California bicycle accident resources provide more detailed information about the issues cyclists and families may face after a serious crash.

You can learn more about what to do after a bicycle accident in California, who may be liable in a California bicycle accident, how much a California bicycle accident case may be worth, common bicycle accident injuries, California bicycle laws, bicycle accidents caused by distracted drivers, dooring bicycle accidents, hit-and-run bicycle accidents, and California bicycle accident claim deadlines.

DAG Law Firm, APC represents cyclists injured in serious bicycle and e-bike accidents throughout California. We can review how the crash occurred, the available evidence, potentially responsible parties, insurance issues, medical injuries, lost income, and other accident-related losses.

Whether the collision involved a distracted driver, unsafe turn, bike lane, opening vehicle door, hit-and-run motorist, rideshare vehicle, commercial truck, public bus, or dangerous roadway condition, the specific facts and evidence matter.

You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. There are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying bicycle accident matters handled on a contingency fee basis.

Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today to discuss your situation.