A recent Bay Area bicycle accident that resulted in a teenager's death emphasizes the dangers young bicyclists face. When a child or teenage bicyclist is hurt in a crash because of another person's negligence, the negligent person may be held liable for the accident in a personal-injury lawsuit.
Tragic Bicycle Crash
On a rainy afternoon in May 2011, Brandon Sorensen, a 13-year-old boy from Alameda, was struck by a sport utility vehicle in an intersection while riding his bike. Coincidentally, his mother drove past soon after the accident and was able to hold him before he passed away at a hospital.
After the accident, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition held a bicycle-safety workshop in a nearby church basement to provide instruction bicycle equipment, laws and safety to teenagers and their parents. Such workshops and other bike-safety education campaigns are important to reduce or prevent tragic bicycle accidents like Brandon's, especially because young bicyclists are more likely than any other age group to be involved in traffic collisions.
California Bicycle Accident Statistics
The Bay Citizen, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization that provides coverage of the San Francisco Bay Area for the New York Times, recently analyzed California bicycle accident data from the California Highway Patrol and found surprising results.
According to the Bay Citizen, children ages 10 to 19 years old were involved in more than 3,200 crashes with motor vehicles in the Bay Area from 2005 to 2009, which is more than any other age group. Almost half of those collisions involved teenage boys ages 12 to 16 years old. Bicyclists in their 20s had the second-highest number of crashes involving motor vehicles with around 3,100 accidents from 2005 to 2009.
Information collected from the police reports of these accidents revealed that bicyclists in their 20s were deemed at fault for the accidents by police in 46 percent of the crashes, while teenage bicyclists were judged at fault by police in 63 percent of the crashes.
Young Bicyclist Safety Risks
Police and bicycle-safety experts say that, while most people think that riders in their 20s are most likely to be involved in traffic collisions, children and teenagers are especially at risk for bicycle crashes.
One reason for the increased risk of harm for young bicyclists is their limited understanding of bicycle and traffic laws. As inexperienced riders, they may be unfamiliar with the rules of the road and lack the knowledge and skills that comes with experience. For example, the Bay Citizen reports that young riders often ride in crosswalks, but it is illegal for bicyclists to do so. In addition, the California Vehicle Code requires all bicyclists to ride on the right side of the road, signal their turns and obey stop signs and traffic lights, just like cars.
Another reason why young bicyclists have higher risks for injuries is their failure to wear bicycle helmets. Stacey Perry, head of bicycle safety for the Oakland Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit, stated that getting children and teenagers to wear helmets while biking is one of her biggest challenges, even though California law requires all bicyclists under age 18 to wear helmets.
Bicycle Accident Lawsuits
If a bicyclist is injured in a crash caused by a driver, the bicyclist may be able to make a claim against the driver for negligence in a personal-injury lawsuit. Both bicyclists and drivers are required to ride and drive with due care and reasonable caution. If they fail to do so and cause an accident, they may be found negligent by a judge or jury and ordered to pay damages for any injuries resulting from the accident. Damages may include monetary compensation for:
- Past and future medical care
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Any permanent disability
California uses a system called comparative negligence that may affect the amount of damages an injured bicyclist recovers in a personal-injury lawsuit. Under comparative negligence, an injured person's recovery is reduced by his or her percentage of fault in causing the accident.
For example, assume that a bicyclist is awarded $10,000 in damages. If the judge or jury finds that the bicyclist was 20 percent at fault and the driver was 80 percent at fault for the accident, the bicyclist's damages award would be reduced by 20 percent, so he or she ultimately would receive $8,000 in damages.
An experienced personal injury attorney will keep the focus on the driver's negligence when representing a bicyclist injured in a traffic collision to recover the damages the injured bicyclist deserves. If you or your child was injured in a bicycle crash, promptly contact a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer to discuss any legal claims you may have.
