Bicycle accident claims function similarly to most other personal injury claims. Like other personal injury claims, you need to prove that someone else breached their duty of care, you were harmed, and you suffered damages as a result of the other party’s breach of their duty of care owed to you.
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident and are considering making a claim, call Stone Rose Law at (480) 631-3025 to speak with a personal injury lawyer and get the help you need to get compensated.
Personal injury claims for bicycle accidents use the same legal principles as other personal injury cases.
To win in civil court or to have a persuasive case for settlement with an insurance company, you will need to be able to establish the following claim elements:
If you can prove the first three elements of a personal injury lawsuit after a bicycle accident, your bicycle accident damages will take the following forms.
Economic damages are also known as direct damages. The main feature of economic damages is that they are relatively easy to calculate. Examples of economic damages are:
There is no limit to how much compensation you can receive for economic damages you can prove in a bicycle accident claim. You prove economic damages by showing receipts, bills, estimates, and invoices related to your financial costs resulting from the accident.
Non-economic damages are also known as indirect damages. They are not as easy to calculate as economic damages, mainly because they are more subjective in nature, such as the harm you experience from the effects of scarring, disfigurement, and long-term disability.
Examples of non-economic harm are:
In a civil lawsuit, when calculating damages, the jury determines the value of non-economic damages. In bicycle accident settlements, often these damages are calculated by assigning them as a multiplier factor based on your economic damages.
For example, if your insurance company settlement for direct harm is $50,000, and the negotiated multiplier for non-economic harm is 2, then 2 x $50,000 = $100,000, which is added to your direct damages payout for a total of $150,000.
Multipliers are usually in a range between 2 and 5.
In Arizona, there is no limit to how much compensation you can receive for non-economic damages.
If the conduct of the motorist in a bicycle accident is especially egregious, such as intentional “road rage” behavior that involves running you and your bicycle off the road or purposefully striking you with a vehicle, and/or was driving while impaired and striking you, and can justify an award of punitive damages.
As with non-economic damages, if a jury concludes that you are entitled to an award of punitive damages in a personal injury court case, the jury will decide the amount. In settlement negotiations using the multiplier method above, punitive damages will increase the multiplier. A multiplier of 5, for example, usually means that punitive damages are being factored into the settlement.
Every year, about 30 to 40 bicyclists in Arizona die as a result of their injuries from severe bicycle accidents. If this happens to a linear family member (I.e., mom, dad, children) of yours, then you may have a personal injury cause of action in the form of a wrongful death claim.
Often, bicycle accident claims involve allegations by both the motorist and the cyclist that the other is at least partially at-fault. Comparative fault is an affirmative defense that the defendant in a personal injury case can raise to claim that the plaintiff shares some of the blame for the harm the plaintiff suffered.
Comparative fault, if established, will reduce the amount of a jury award in a court case by a percentage equal to the jury’s assignment of the plaintiff’s fault.
For example, let’s say that the motorist defendant in a bicycle accident claim can show that you, as the cyclist, were 20% at fault for the accident. If the jury awards you $50,000 in damages, then your award will be reduced to $40,000 ($10,000 being 20% of $50,000).
Comparative fault is not an absolute defense in Arizona. Technically, as a plaintiff, you can be found to be 99% at fault, and still be able to collect the remaining 1% in damages for the defendant’s share of liability.
The reasons behind many bicycle accidents that involve collisions with motor vehicles are well known. Here are the most common explanations for how these accidents occur.
“Might makes right” is not a rule of the road in Arizona, but sometimes motorists can subconsciously think it applies when ceding the right of way to bicycles.
Not every bicycle rider will give up the right of way to a car or truck, even if the vehicle operator assumes that the bicyclist will do so out of a sense of self-preservation. This can cause collisions when the cyclist believes that the vehicle driver will respect his or her right of way and the driver assumes that the cyclist will stay out of the way.
A common example of failing to yield the right of way leading to an accident is when a car is turning onto another street and the bicyclist is proceeding straight through the same intersection.
Bicycles are an informal means of transportation; they do not need to be registered, do not require a license to operate, and children as well as adults can ride them. Sometimes this sense of informality can tempt bike riders to not appreciate that bicycles are subject to the same rules of the road as automobiles.
For example, many vehicle drivers and pedestrians can attest to witnessing bicyclists disregarding stop signs at intersections.
This kind of casual attitude toward observing the legal obligation to obey traffic laws can lead to tragic consequences when a motorist or pedestrian proceeding through the intersection believes that the cyclist is going to stop. Another example is if a motorist entering onto a roadway who is required to yield to ongoing traffic fails to yield to a bicyclist lawfully traveling in the lane of traffic.
The rule is simple: pedestrians walk along the side of the road while facing traffic, and bicycles travel with the flow of traffic. As with failing to observe traffic signs and signals, when a cyclist chooses not to follow the rules of the road and rides facing traffic, this can cause an accident.
For example, if two bicyclists are riding in a bike lane on the same side of the road, one traveling with traffic and the other against it, this increases the chance of one of them having to swerve out of the bike lane and into the lane of vehicle traffic. Or, both cyclists assume that the other will get out of the way, and they collide head-on.
Also, if as a bicyclist, you are traveling against traffic, this means that you may not see traffic signs and signals coming up that you need to be aware of.
Driving while texting, talking on the phone, or being impaired by a drug while driving is always dangerous. Because bicycles are smaller than cars and often are not equipped with features like lights to make them more visible, the risk of a distracted driver or a drunk driver not seeing them in time to avoid a collision is even greater, and the consequences of the collision are more grave to the cyclist.
The same applies to a bicyclist who is listening to music on earphones, having a phone conversation via headset, or riding while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. A bicyclist can be held partially negligent if engaged in distracted riding or being impaired while riding a bicycle, despite such not being illegal in Arizona.
In addition to observing Arizona state and local laws that apply to bicycles, here are some practical steps you can take to lower your risk of being injured in a bike accident.
Arizona law treats bicycles as vehicles in many instances. This means that bicycles are generally subject to the same laws that motor vehicles are. Arizona’s bicycle laws are written to protect you as a bicyclist and to facilitate safe, respectful interactions among bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians.
Here are some specific Arizona laws that motorists must observe when interacting with bicyclists.
Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 28-811 through 28-817 are the state’s bicycle laws. Specific provisions of these laws include:
ARS 28-819 is the state law that applies to Electric bicycles (e-bikes). Arizona classifies e-bikes based on speed and motor assistance. All e-bikes sold in Arizona after 2018 must display a label indicating their class, top assisted speed, and motor wattage.
E-bikes do not require registration, a title, insurance, or a driver’s license to use in Arizona. E-bikes in Arizona are subject to the same rules and privileges as standard bicycles.
If you’re involved in a cycling accident in Arizona, here is what to do.
Bicycle accidents can result in severe injuries and medical costs that your health insurance may not cover completely. The lost wages that result from bicycle accident injuries can place a severe financial burden on you.
The Stone Rose Law Firm represents Arizona cyclists who need to seek compensation after being involved in accidents with motor vehicles, other bicyclists, or pedestrians.
In a free consultation, we can inform you of your legal rights and analyze your potential personal injury claims under Arizona law so you can seek bicycle accident compensation in a fair settlement or pursue a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages for your injuries.
Call Stone Rose Law at (480) 631-3025 or use our online contact form to inquire about our legal services and to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers.
