How Do Road Hazards Cause Bike Accidents?

Bicycling has become increasingly popular over the decades for various health, financial, and environmental reasons. While those reasons are valid, cyclists are more vulnerable when exposed to risks, including aggressive or distracted drivers, poor weather conditions, and dangerous road hazards. Because bicycles lack the protective barriers of motor vehicles, injuries tend to be severe or fatal in these collisions. 

If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a bike accident, you’ll want to speak to a San Francisco bicycle accident lawyer about the specifics of your case. Injured parties may be eligible to recover a settlement for their losses. Schedule a free consultation to explore your legal right to financial compensation.

Road Hazards That Cause Bike Accidents

A road hazard is any object or feature beside or on the roadway or bike lane that may adversely affect riders if their bicycles come into contact with it. They may also cause motorists to lose control of their vehicles and crash into bicyclists. Two significantly common hazards are potholes and uneven pavement. Deep holes can be challenging for riders and motorists to avoid and cause them to lose control. Uneven payment can occur from poor repairs, soil settlement, and tree roots pushing through the surface. Other common road hazards causing bike accidents are as follows:

• Broken Sidewalks and Curbs: Cracked or broken curbs and sidewalks can contribute to unsteady or uneven surfaces, leading to bike accidents or collisions with parked vehicles. 
• Debris and Loose Gravel: Debris and loose gravel on the road or bike lane pose a serious risk to bicyclists. Debris may include anything from fallen tree branches to roadkill, litter, broken glass, metal parts, and detached tires.
• Wet and Slippery Surfaces: Wet conditions significantly contribute to bike accidents. Rain makes pavement slippery, making it harder to brake effectively. It also makes metal surfaces and painted road markings slick, causing tires to lose traction. Standing water from poor drainage is another dangerous road hazard that causes bike accidents.
• Insufficient Lighting or Signage: Inadequate lighting or road signage contributes to collisions with vehicles and stationary objects, such as trees and telephone poles. Roads with poor lighting make it difficult for motorists to see bicyclists in front of them. Missing or broken signage can cause drivers to veer into riders.
• Sewer Grates: Maintenance covers and sewage grates are road hazards that can be risky for bicyclists. These often have significant gaps or parallel slots that can catch a bike tire, causing the rider to flip over the handlebars or be thrown from the bicycle. 
• Poor Road Design: Poor road design that fails to consider cyclists can be hazardous for riders. Examples include dangerous intersections, a lack of shoulders, and narrow lanes. Poor maintenance, including uncleared ice and snow, also poses a significant threat for a bicycle accident.
• Poorly Marked Bike Lanes: Poorly marked or maintained bike lanes can contribute to these collisions; for example, faded paint can cause motorists to merge into cyclists.
• Road Construction: When construction zones fail to ensure safe conditions, such as proper design, road maintenance, signage, and traffic control measures, it can create hazardous road conditions that cause bike accidents.
• Railroad Tracks: Poorly designed or maintained railroad tracks pose a hazard to bicyclists. Missing or inadequate signs or warning systems all contribute to collisions.

Hazardous road conditions are a significant factor for riders and collisions. However, they also contribute to drivers crashing into cyclists. Regardless of how a road hazard causes a collision, you’ll want to speak to an experienced bicycle accident lawyer to determine liability before filing for compensation. Due to complex liability, these cases tend to be more complicated than standard bicycle accidents.

How Do Road Hazards Cause Bike Accidents?

Road hazards make it difficult for cyclists to stay upright and avoid colliding with or falling into other cyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and stationary objects, such as road signs and parked vehicles. One of the more common ways road hazards cause bike accidents is by causing a cyclist to lose control. For example, when a bike tire hits a large pothole, causing it to jolt quickly, it can throw a rider from the bike or direct the bicycle into traffic or vehicles. Other ways road hazards cause bike accidents include the following:

• Loss of Traction: Specific road hazards, like wet pavement and loose gravel, cause a loss of traction, leading to bicycle collisions. Without adequate traction, cyclists have considerably less control over their bikes. Losing traction frequently results in skidding and sliding. 
• Sudden Stopping: When bicyclists are forced to make sudden stops, it can lead to disastrous accidents and injuries. Sudden stopping results from debris in bike paths or roadways and pedestrians or motorists darting in front of their path. 
• Balance Disruption: Uneven road surfaces, such as broken pavement, can disrupt balance. When cyclists encounter a sudden surface change, it is more challenging to remain upright, causing shaking and a loss of balance, which can lead to crashes and injuries. 
• Punctures and Blowouts: When bike tires are punctured by sharp objects, such as broken glass, metal shards, nails, and other debris, it can cause sudden blowouts. Blowouts cause riders to lose control of their bikes and crash suddenly.

When road hazards cause bike accidents and injuries, accident victims should consult an experienced attorney immediately. Documenting the accident scene as soon as possible is vital so critical evidence isn’t lost or destroyed. A bike accident lawyer surveys the scene for camera sources that may have captured the incident. Gathering video surveillance footage quickly is imperative and a prime example of evidence that can be quickly lost. These sources include traffic cameras, dashcams, and security cams from surrounding businesses or residences in rural bike accidents.

Common Bike Accident Injuries

Bicyclists aren’t protected by any of the occupant protection measures that passenger vehicles provide, frequently causing severe injuries, disability, and wrongful death. Annual bike accident statistics demonstrate that over 42,000 cyclists suffer injuries, and nearly 1,000 are killed in collisions. Injuries commonly resulting from bicycle accidents include the following:

• Eye injuries
• Facial trauma
• Dental fractures
• Deep cuts or lacerations
• Broken and fractured bones
• Concussions and traumatic brain injuries 
• Friction burn or road rash from paved surfaces
• Soft tissue injuries, such as sprains and strains
• Spinal cord injuries, such as partial or total paralysis
• Internal injuries, like organ damage or internal bleeding

Detailed medical documentation is critical evidence in proving bike accident injuries. Lawyers collaborate with a network of healthcare professionals to review medical records, identifying and addressing potential concerns. It’s necessary to ensure adequate documentation when demanding compensation from liable insurance companies and other parties.

Who Is Liable When Road Hazards Cause Bike Accidents?

Liability falls on the entity responsible for maintaining roads and sidewalks. These can be private or government entities and involve many complexities, such as corporate structured insurance policies meant to protect assets. You want an attorney with experience navigating road hazard claims against the following potentially liable entities to represent your case:

• Government Entities: When road hazards result from poor road maintenance, local city, county, and state governments may be liable. They have a reasonable duty of care to adequately warn and address them for the safety of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.
• Private Property Owners: Property owners may be liable for failing to maintain the area when road hazards cause accidents on private properties, like in parking lots. Commercial businesses and residential homes are also private properties. 
• Construction Companies: When construction zones are poorly marked or maintained, the construction company may be at fault for bike accidents resulting from their negligence. Bike accidents caused by construction zone negligence can sometimes involve multiple liability with government entities and construction companies.

Depending on state jurisdiction, the statute of limitation on bike accidents caused by road hazards can be shorter than traditional statutes. A local bicycle accident attorney will clarify these regulations and meet all necessary deadlines. Bike accident claims are generally settled outside of courts between attorneys and liable insurers. However, a lawyer may file a civil lawsuit when insurance companies refuse to pay valid bike accident claims.

Why You Need a Bike Accident Attorney to Represent Your Case

Dealing with government entities makes these cases more challenging by default. You need a bike accident attorney experienced in negotiating claims against their complex insurance corporate structure, which is designed to make it difficult to secure compensation. The benefits of hiring a bicycle accident lawyer are their offer of free case evaluations, thorough accident investigations, claim damages valuations, and settlement negotiations to secure maximum compensation for bicycle accident victims.

Case Evaluation

Bike accident lawyers provide free case evaluations to listen, understand, and assess. These meetings allow accident victims to ask questions while exploring their legal options for recovering compensation. Another benefit is that most bicycle collision attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, so injured parties pay nothing upfront to secure legal representation for their claim. Contingency guarantees clients that they only pay when attorneys win their case. When they don’t win, you owe them nothing.

Case Investigation

Bike accident attorneys thoroughly investigate the sequence of events and circumstances surrounding your collision and injuries. Their process includes gathering, preserving, and analyzing evidence before presenting it before liable insurers, judges, and juries. Depending on the nature of your bike accident, a lawyer may gather evidence, such as:

• Police or incident reports
• Photos of the accident scene
• Video footage of the bicycle accident, when available
• Eyewitness statements and testimonies
• The bicycle or debris
• Medical records and billing statements
• Invoice for bicycle and personal property repairs or replacement

Expert witness testimony is invaluable for proving negligence in bike accident cases. They help establish the extent of injuries and their impact on daily life and maximize the damages in your claim. Depending on case relevance, they may collaborate with experts, including medical professionals, economists, life care planners, accident reconstructionists, and mental health experts, to strengthen the evidence in your claim.

Claim Valuation of Damages

Valuing the damages in your case involves assessing the incurred economic and non-economic damages. Lawyers may consult your treating medical providers, healthcare professionals, and vocational rehabilitation experts when determining your claim’s worth. Depending on the severity of bike accident injuries and their impact on daily life, these may include the following damages:

• Healthcare Costs: Medical, surgical, and rehabilitation services are calculable economic losses. These include diagnostics, imaging, treatments, procedures, and prescription medications. When injuries cause permanent impairment or disability, they can include costs associated with long-term medical care needs.
• Lost Earnings: When missing work causes income losses, they can be recovered in a bike accident claim or lawsuit. These encompass lost income, overtime, healthcare benefits, and retirement or pension plans.
• Property Damages: Bicycles, safety helmets, and any other personal property destroyed in the crash can be recovered in a bicycle accident claim. Property damages range from jewelry to groceries, designer bags, and portable electronic devices. 
• Pain and Suffering: Your physical pain and emotional suffering following a bike accident are intangible losses that can be compensated. Pain and suffering encompass sleep disturbances, chronic pain, mental anguish, and the psychological impact of the bike accident and injuries.

Bike accident victims must keep all documents demonstrating financial losses to ensure their calculations during claim valuation. These usually involve receipts, invoices, estimates, and bills. Income loss statements and pay stubs help establish income losses. Injured parties seeking pain and suffering must keep a detailed and consistent journal documenting injury symptoms, their impact on daily life and work-related activities, and other intangible losses.

Settlement Negotiations

A big part of the insurance claims process is negotiating settlements. Insurance companies typically start with a ridiculously low counter to your attorney’s demand letter after valuing your claim. Negotiations can involve several exchanges before all parties agree to the settlement terms and amount. Insurers issue final compensation to lawyers, who collect their contingency fee before negotiating medical costs and paying any medical liens placed against your settlement. Finally, they will issue you a check for the remaining amount.

Contact an Experienced Bike Accident Lawyer Today

If you sustained injuries or lost a loved one, you’ll want to speak to an experienced San Francisco personal injury lawyer immediately. Bicycle accident cases involve many complexities and frequently impose shorter statutes of limitations for obtaining a settlement for injuries and damages. Don’t delay seeking legal guidance. Schedule a free case consultation to tell your story and explore your right to pursue compensation