Riding a bicycle is healthy, fun, and good for the environment. And if you enjoy riding a bike — whether for sport or for transportation — it’s your right to do so. Bicyclists in California are as welcome on the roadways as anyone else.

Unfortunately, drivers aren’t always as careful around bicyclists as they should be. As a result, thousands of people are injured in vehicle-bicycle collisions every year, many of them suffering serious injuries. Sadly, fatalities are not uncommon.

California is home to more bicycle riders than any other state in the country. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), our state also has the highest rate of fatal bicycle accidents in the United States, with an average of more than 150 cyclist deaths per year in California alone.

That’s why it’s so important that vehicle drivers (and everyone else on the road) show cyclists the care and respect for safety that they deserve.

While most bicycle accidents do not involve a motor vehicle, those that do tend to cause significant injuries and substantial financial damages.

If you’ve been injured while riding a bicycle and someone else’s careless driving or negligent behavior is to blame, you are entitled to a financial recovery under California personal injury law. Unfortunately, the at-fault parties and their insurance companies don’t always step up to do the right thing in these cases.  You deserve to have an experienced Bakersfield bike accident lawyer standing by your side, looking out for your best interests at every turn.

Bakersfield Bike Accident Lawyers You Can Count On

The Bakersfield personal injury accident lawyers at The Law Offices of Mickey Fine have decades of experience in helping bicycle accident victims get every penny they deserve. We’d like to fight for that in your case too. Please contact us online or call our office at (661) 333-3333 to schedule a free consultation with no obligation and learn more about how we can help at no up-front cost to you.

Bakersfield Bicycle Accident Statistics

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), bike accidents are on the rise in California. An estimated 761 fatal bicycle accidents occurred between 2016 and 2020, with 26 taking place in Kern County. Many more bike accidents resulted in serious injury.

Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents

In the majority of vehicle-bicycle accidents, the biggest share of legal fault is ultimately assigned to the motorist. Too often, car and truck drivers put bike riders in real danger, and all because the motorist is impatient or callous toward the cyclist’s rights or safety.

An experienced bicycle accident lawyer in Bakersfield can help you hold careless drivers accountable for their negligence, holding them to the highest standards of California’s bicycle safety rules and personal injury laws.

At The Law Offices of Mickey Fine, we have seen bicycle accidents transpire in a wide range of scenarios, many of which boil down to a motorist who didn’t mean to hurt anyone but who was nevertheless dangerously careless.

Common causes of bicycle accidents in California include:

  • Drivers failing to look for bicycle riders
  • Distracted drivers drifting or swerving into a bike lane, sidewalk, or highway shoulder
  • Drivers opening a car door without checking for clearance
  • Impatient motorists driving aggressively near a cyclist
  • Reckless driving (e.g. following too closely / “tailgating” the bicycle rider)
  • Passing a cyclist (“going around a bicycle”)
  • Texting while driving (or other forms of distracted driving)
  • Unsafe turns
  • Drunk driving
  • Drowsy driving
  • Speeding
  • Failure to yield the right-of-way
  • Cyclist error / failure to follow CA bicycle laws (more on that in a later section)
Bakersfield Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Bicycle Accidents Where No Other Vehicle Is Involved

While this webpage is primarily focused on vehicle-bicycle collisions, it is also true that many bicycle accidents do not involve another vehicle. Even in these cases, the cyclist can suffer serious injuries for which they must seek medical attention. A bicyclist in this situation may still be entitled to financial compensation, depending on the circumstances.

As a bike accident lawyer in Bakersfield, Mickey Fine and his team of attorneys are able to assist with a wide range of bicycle accidents, regardless of whether a motor vehicle was involved.

Common Injuries in Bicycle Accidents

A human being on a bicycle is no match for a two-to-three-ton motor vehicle moving at dozens of miles per hour. In a collision of any kind, there is a significant risk of severe injury. Common injuries sustained in bicycle accidents in California include:

  • Broken or fractured bones
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) / concussion
  • Road rash
  • Knee injuries
  • Neck, back, or spinal cord injuries
  • Disfigurement or disability
  • Loss of limb
  • Loss of vision
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Internal bleeding / internal organ injury

These are only examples. Every accident is different, and the human body is complex. Bicycle accident victims may suffer any number of unique injuries. No matter what your injuries might look like, a bicycle accident lawyer in Bakersfield can help. Our experienced legal team will work to gather as much evidence as possible to ensure that your injuries are not undervalued and that you receive maximum compensation.

Bike Accident Injuries

At The Law Offices of Mickey Fine, we often consult with medical specialists, accident reconstruction specialists, and various other experts, meaning that no injury is too major, minor, unusual, or complex for our team of attorneys to handle.

What Can I Be Compensated for After a Bicycle Accident?

If you were injured in a bicycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence (careless driving, for example), you may be entitled to a greater financial recovery than you realize. In California, compensation after a bicycle accident may include:

  • Current and future medical expenses, including hospital and surgery bills
  • Lost income or wages
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Pain and suffering (mental anguish, emotional distress, PTSD, etc.)
  • Disability compensation
  • Disfigurement compensation
  • Property damage
  • Other losses caused by the accident

If your loved one has died in a California bicycle accident, you and your family may be entitled to wrongful death damages. An experienced bicycle accident lawyer in Bakersfield can help.

The specific damages available in any injury or wrongful death claim will depend on the facts and circumstances surrounding the accident. While it is impossible to promise or predict a particular outcome, at The Law Offices of Mickey Fine, we pledge to do everything we can to position your claim for the largest possible recovery.

Our Bakersfield bicycle accident lawyers have a long track record of getting personal injury victims the robust financial justice they deserve.

Does My Insurance Cover a Bicycle Accident?

If a vehicle driver is at fault for your bicycle accident, you are entitled to make a claim under that person’s auto insurance policy. In that sense, a bicycle accident injury claim proceeds much like a personal injury claim for any two-car collision would.

That said, bicycle accident cases do tend to be more complex than typical car crash cases.

Insurance companies defend themselves vigorously against bicycle accident claims. The injuries in these cases tend to be substantial, so the insurance company knows that there could be a lot of money on the line. They also know that an accident victim is less likely to take aggressive legal action if they aren’t represented by an attorney.

Hiring the right bicycle accident lawyer could make all the difference in your case. At The Law Offices of Mickey Fine, our Bakersfield bicycle accident attorneys have a great deal of experience in facing off against large and powerful insurance corporations, demanding that our clients get the full and fair compensation they deserve.

What if the Bicycle Rider Is Partly at Fault?

The defendants in these cases will often claim that the bicycle rider violated one of California’s bicycle laws or was otherwise at fault for their own accident.

Even if that is true, being partly at fault for your bicycle accident won’t stop you from being able to recover financial compensation.

California follows a rule called pure comparative fault, which means that even if the cyclist was negligent and, therefore, partly at fault for their own accident, the cyclist can still recover from the defendant. In this case, the cyclist’s damages will simply be reduced by their percentage of the fault.

Your experienced attorney can fight back against arguments that you were partially at fault or, alternatively, fight for the smallest possible percentage of fault in your case, with the goal of recovering the largest possible amount of money for you.

Talk to a Bicycle Accident Lawyer in Bakersfield About Your Options. The Law Offices of Mickey Fine Will Fight to Get You the Money You Deserve.

Don’t face the insurance companies on your own. A Bakersfield bicycle accident lawyer at The Law Offices of Mickey Fine can protect you throughout the claims process and will fight to maximize your financial compensation.

To learn more about your rights and options, please contact our office and schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Time limits do apply to bike accident claims in California, so please don’t delay.

Call (661) 333-3333 to talk with an experienced bicycle accident attorney today, or contact us online right away.

We will never charge a fee for our services unless we get you money first. The initial consultation is absolutely free.

Law Offices of Mickey Fine – Bakersfield Office
930 Truxtun Ave, Suite 110
Bakersfield, CA 93301
(661) 333-3333