Bicycle Accidents
South Bay attorneys at the Law Offices of Vernon C. Krol and Ronald C. Koerner represent clients in Southern California who have suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of serious accidents involving bicycles, scooters, mopeds, and skateboards, or as pedestrians. This page focuses on accidents involving bicycles, but the discussion of laws and liability will equally apply in many instances to accidents involving pedestrians, skateboards, and motorized bicycles.
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, over one hundred people are killed in bicycle collisions every year, with hundreds of thousands more being injured. The exposure of bicyclists and lack of adequate protection creates a likelihood of severe or catastrophic injury to the cyclist from an automobile impact that would be considered minor if involving two motor vehicles of comparable size. Fractures, spinal injuries, and traumatic brain injuries can all result from accidents on the roads, even when a motor vehicle is not directly involved.
There are many factors which can contribute to an accident involving a bicycle rider. The main reasons are addressed below.
Rider Error
Cyclists have the same rights and are subject to the same laws as automobile drivers. Cyclists are therefore deemed to know and obey all applicable traffic laws. In addition, cyclists must travel with the same degree of care and control as is expected of drivers of automobiles.
Riding predictably and visibly and communicating your intentions to motorists are all keys to safe bicycling. Failing to ride in this manner may be considered negligent behavior on behalf of the cyclist, which can contribute to or cause an accident. Other ways in which a rider may be held at fault in an accident or charged with contributing to his or her injuries are by improperly assembling or failing to maintain the bike in good condition, or by failing to wear a helmet. As noted in our firm's Practice Area Overview, a plaintiff's recovery against a negligent defendant is reduced according to the amount that plaintiff contributed to his or her own injuries.
Driver Fault
Despite riding carefully and conscientiously, there are times when the safest bicycle rider becomes victim to the negligence of a motorist. Drivers are often not attentive to the possibility of a cyclist on the roadway, or are simply insensitive to the care required when sharing the road with bicycles.
If a police report was made of the accident, the injured cyclist should obtain a copy as soon as possible. Often times, the cyclist will be unable due to injuries to give an account of the accident at the time the police report is written, so the report may contain only the driver's version of the accident. It is therefore important for the rider to review the report and correct any errors or misstatements on the record.
Equipment Failure
Even if properly maintained, a bike may contain structural defects due to poor design or faulty construction that cause the bicycle to fail at a critical moment. Also, it may have been improperly assembled at the dealership, or improper instructions or inadequate warnings as to safe use may have been given at the point of sale. Our products liability attorneys hold designers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accountable for injuries caused by their defective products.
In order to properly preserve evidence, it is important not to dispose of any parts or attempt to repair the bike or tamper with it in any way following an accident. An attorney will want to have an expert examine the bicycle to determine if the equipment itself caused or contributed in any way to the accident.
Road Faults
If a defect in the roadway caused or contributed to the accident, the injured rider may have some recourse against the governmental entity responsible for maintaining the roads. Apart from insidious defects in the road itself, the road may have been improperly designed from the start or may contain inadequate markings and warnings of proper driving conditions. Road repair and construction often creates special hazards to cyclists by not providing sufficient shoulder room or bike lanes.
Our Resources page contains a wealth of informative links to bicycle laws, regulations, and safety tips. Please see this page or our FAQs page for more answers to your cycling questions. If you or someone you love has been injured while operating a bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, or skateboard, or if you were a pedestrian injured by a motor vehicle, contact the Law Offices of Vernon C. Krol & Ronald C. Koerner to discuss your case.
