Car Driver Liability For Bike Accidents

bicycle accident

Bicycle Accident Lawyer

The injuries that bicyclists can sustain if hit by a car driver can be severe. If you consider that bicyclists only have a helmet and maybe other light gear on their body at the time, compared to the middle exterior of a vehicle, it seems like they just don’t stand a chance. Bicyclists are struck by car drivers often, and there are many contributing factors to why this may happen. Typically, it is the car driver who failed to properly yield in the presence of a bicyclist, or failed to notice their presence on the roadway at all. Bicyclists themselves have probably felt the intimidation of trying to coexist alongside vehicles while on the street. And as a bicycle accident lawyer explains, if a collision does happen, bicyclists are the ones who tend to suffer the greatest injury and property damage.

Bicyclists deserve to be able to travel wherever they want, without the worry of being hit by a vehicle. But still, that ever present threat of being hit by a car is something that most bicyclists worry about. Bicyclists may use protective gear, proper hand signals, and follow the laws for bicyclists, but despite that find themselves involved in a serious crash where they have sustained injury. Examples of  bike accident injuries can include but are not limited to the following:

  • Abrasions
  • Contusion
  • Strains
  • Fractures
  • Head injury
  • Road rash
  • Emotional anguish
  • Impalement
  • Organ damage
  • Spinal cord injury

There are many ways a car driver may cause a bicyclist to suffer injury. For instance, a driver may have been too busy rushing to where they need to be to notice the presence of a bicyclist near them. A driver may have been distracted on their phone, been eating, talking with passengers, fidgeting with the radio, not noticed a red light or stop sign up ahead, or otherwise failed to notice and respond appropriately to bicyclists. Car drivers collectively could be doing so much more to keep bicyclists, and others who share the road, from harm. But unfortunately, as we see everyday on roads across the nation, not every car driver operates their vehicle safely. Car drivers are frequently too caught up in their cell phone or other distractions, or they unfairly find bicyclists to be an annoying presence and don’t treat them with care. Either way, a car driver who is found reckless and injures a bicyclist is probably going to be liable for how that person has suffered.

It’s important for bicyclists to understand what their rights are, and what they could be entitled to if hit by a reckless car driver. Even if a bicyclist gears up and takes every precaution possible, they could still get hit. Some riders who have been seriously injured meet with a legal team, similar to Woron and Dhillon, LLC, so that they get the most they can out of their claim. The offending car driver and their insurance company may have to pay for all the ways that the bicyclist was affected because of the accident.