Basics on Cyclist Accident Case

At the offices of Kelly & Bramwell, Attorneys at Law, personal injury cases are some of our specialties. Our personal injury attorney services have helped numerous clients get their just compensation for various types of injuries, from car accident injuries all the way down to things like dog bites and similar areas.

One area that’s related to auto accidents, but one that some don’t take quite as seriously, is cycling. Cyclists fall under the rules of the road when they use it just like automobile drivers do, and while these rules may have important differences, both sets are governed by local traffic laws. For this reason, personal injury cases involving cyclists absolutely can and do take place – here are some basics on what defines these cases.

Negligence Basics

In all cycling-related cases where one party is attempting to collect damages from another based on injury sustained, the primary buzzword is negligence. For any such accident involving a motor vehicle and a bicyclist, there will be two important questions asked:

• Did negligence or recklessness from the driver of the motor vehicle cause the accident and lead to injuries to the cyclist?
• Did cyclist negligence cause or contribute to the accident?

As you can see, these are opposing potential contributing areas in such an accident. Our next two sections will go over proving each of these sides.

Proving Driver Negligence

There are a great number of ways an automobile driver can be negligent. These include drifting lanes, running stop signs or traffic lights, speeding, or knowing disregard for the safety of other drivers. The issue for lawsuits in this area is proving this negligence – plaintiffs have to be able to show that the defendant acted negligently, or “violated the basic duty of care” owed to others on the road. This will often boil down to the specific facts of the case, generally based on eyewitnesses or other strong evidence like video.

Cyclist Negligence

On the flip side, cyclist negligence can be important for various types of personal injury cases. It can be used in a case where a cyclist sues a driver – this will be called contributory or comparative negligence, in which case the damages owed to a cyclist may be reduced or even eliminated if their own negligence helped cause the accident, or contributed to their own injuries. And even further, if the cyclist rode negligently and contributed to someone else’s injuries, the cyclist can be held liable.

For more on cyclist-related personal injury cases, or to learn about any of our family law or divorce attorney services, speak to the pros at the offices of Kelly & Bramwell today.