Bicycle Accident Cases Aren’t as Easy as You Think

Much like pedestrians, bike riders are incredibly vulnerable against cars. Bikes are light, have little or no safety equipment, and provide no protection to the rider from either the car hitting them or from the ground below.

Despite that, when a car hits a bicycle, it is anything but a simple case. Bike riders involved in car accidents face a lot of legal hurdles, before they can get compensation for their injuries.

Bias Against Cyclists

Much like motorcyclists, many jurors go into a trial with an inherent bias against bicycle riders. Many of us observe cyclists riding carelessly, or crossing roads where they shouldn’t cross, or not using designated cycling lanes. We take those experiences into the jury box with us.

That can mean that when a jury has to decide whether a car driver, or a bicycle rider was negligent they may inherently side with the cyclist, drawing upon their common experience of seeing other cyclists who don’t follow the rules of the road.

The Cyclist’s Own Negligence

The other issue in bicycle accident cases is comparative negligence.

Comparative negligence allows a jury to consider to what extent an injury victim (here, the cyclist) caused or contributed to his or her accident or to his or her own injuries. And when it comes to cyclists, there are a lot of ways to do that, which negligent defendants take advantage of.

For example, Massachusetts law says that bicycles have to have a headlamp and a tail light, and that the lights have to be lit up 30 minutes before and after sunrise and sunset. The law also says that pedals must have reflectors, or else, a reflective material around the rider’s ankles, if there are no traditional pedals to put reflectors on.

But many cyclists are unaware of this law. And when they get into an accident, if these laws aren’t followed, that noncompliance will be the first thing that a negligent car driver’s attorney uses, as a defense to the lawsuit against that driver.

Following the Rules of the Road

There are other ways of blaming a cyclist as well. The driver will ask whether the cyclist used hand turn signals if the cyclist was turning, or will analyze whether the cyclist could have used, but chose not to, designated bicycle lanes.

Safety equipment, like helmets, while not legally mandatory, will be an issue in the case, as the car that hit the cyclist will allege that the cyclist would not have been as injured, had he or she used a helmet.

None of this means that an injured bicyclist cannot recover for injuries caused by a negligent car driver. It just means that the jury could lower the compensation the victim would get in trial, if it did in fact find that the cyclist bore some responsibility for his or her injuries or the accident.

Injured while riding a bicycle? We can help you fight whatever defenses they may throw at you and help you get compensation for your injuries. Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200.

Sources:

malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter85/Section11B

malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleII/Chapter231/Section85