If you were hurt in a bicycle accident, your first action should always be getting appropriate medical attention for all the injuries you have sustained. After that, your next top priority should be determining whether someone else was at fault for your accident in legal terms and, if so, identifying and demanding civil compensation from them for the harm they have caused you.
However, figuring out who specifically to file suit against after a bicycle accident can be one of the most complex parts of the entire legal process. Guidance from a skilled bicycle accident lawyer could be crucial to getting through your claim as effectively and efficiently as possible, but in the meantime, here is a brief overview of who is usually at fault if a bicycle is involved in an accident.
Usually, someone is legally liable for injuries stemming from a bicycle accident if they directly contributed to causing those injuries through their own negligence. Someone is negligent under Pennsylvania civil law if they cause someone else to suffer an otherwise avoidable injury by violating a duty of care they owed to that person—for example, the duty drivers have to obey traffic laws and pay attention to the road while behind the wheel. If a driver hit you with their car while you were riding a bike, proving they were negligent in this way is usually how you will hold them at fault for your injuries.
However, sometimes fault for injuries after a bicycle is involved in an accident is a matter of strict liability instead of negligence. In these situations, the defendant is automatically liable for injuries because they met a specific set of criteria, and there is no need for you to prove that they did anything specifically reckless or careless to cause you harm. This generally plays into cases involving mechanical problems with a bicycle, since bicycle manufacturers are strictly liable for any injuries caused by an unreasonably dangerous defect in a product they made and sold.
Bicyclists can sometimes be found at fault for causing their own injuries through their own reckless or careless actions. In a situation like this, a court overseeing an ensuing lawsuit might assign that bicyclist a percentage of comparative fault for their damages. Then, in accordance with 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes §7102, that court could reduce the total amount of money available to that injured person by that same percentage—or, if that percentage is greater than 50 percent, the court could throw the case out altogether.
The question of who is usually at fault for accidents involving bicycles can be more difficult to answer than many people assume, and it can depend a lot on the circumstances leading up to your specific accident. No matter what, support from a knowledgeable legal professional will give you much better odds of getting a positive case result than you would have filing suit on your own. Call today for a consultation.
