Cyclists injured by motor vehicles are in a legally and financially more complex situation than most realize. The bicycle carries no liability insurance. The at-fault driver’s policy is the obvious coverage source, but it is rarely the only one, and for serious injuries whose costs exceed the at-fault driver’s policy limits it may not be sufficient on its own. The coverage investigation that identifies every applicable source, the traffic law analysis that establishes the driver’s specific legal obligations to cyclists, and the comparative fault defense that counters the insurer’s reflexive rider-fault arguments all require specific legal knowledge that most injured cyclists do not have when they are deciding whether to pursue a claim alone or with representation.
Coverage Sources Beyond the At-Fault Driver’s Policy
A cyclist’s own auto insurance policy, if they carry one, typically includes MedPay coverage that pays the cyclist’s medical expenses regardless of fault and UM/UIM coverage that applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient insurance. These coverages extend to the policyholder as a cyclist in most states, not only when they are in a vehicle. A household member’s auto policy may extend the same protections to resident family members injured in bicycle crashes. Identifying every applicable policy from the first day after the crash is the coverage investigation that prevents a seriously injured cyclist from settling for less than the complete available coverage provides.
Traffic Laws That Protect Cyclists and Establish Driver Liability
Most states impose a minimum passing distance requirement on drivers overtaking cyclists, typically three feet, whose violation is negligence per se when a crash results. State laws also prohibit vehicle occupants from opening doors into the path of approaching cyclists without first checking for traffic. Drivers are required to yield to cyclists who have the right of way at intersections, to avoid following cyclists at unsafe distances, and to exercise the same due care toward cyclists that they owe to other road users. When a driver violates any of these specific legal obligations and a crash results, the violation establishes the breach of duty without requiring expert testimony about what reasonable care demanded.
See also: What You Didn’T See Coming: Made in Cookware Lawsuit
Countering the Fault Arguments Raised Against Cyclists
Insurance adjusters routinely raise fault arguments against cyclists including failure to ride in a designated bike lane, failure to use required lights for nighttime riding, and riding in the wrong direction. Each of these arguments has specific evidentiary counters: the practicability exception for lane use, the documentation of actual lighting equipment, and the reconstruction that establishes the cyclist’s actual position and conduct before the crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s bicycle safety data documents driver failure behaviors as the leading contributing factor in serious bicycle crashes. An experienced bicycle accident attorney identifies every coverage source, establishes the driver’s specific legal violations, and builds the comparative fault defense that maximizes the recovery available.
