Who Could Be Liable in a Bicycle Accident?

Statistics published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that more than 818 people died in bicycle accidents involving motor vehicles during 2015. Bicycle accidents can involve passenger cars, buses or trucks. While motor vehicles are a common cause of bicycle accidents, there are other parties who could be responsible. In addition to motor vehicles, the other parties responsible for a bicycle accident may include:

1. Bicycle repair shops. These businesses may repair, modify or sometimes sell bicycles. However, they could make mistakes while performing repairs or they could sell a defective bicycle. For instance, you could be involved in an accident if a repair shop improperly repaired your brakes.
2. Bicycle manufacturers. Like other products, bicycles may contain safety defects that raise the risk of an accident. Bicycle manufacturers may be liable for accidents caused by design or manufacturing defects. In this case, a cyclist or their loved ones may be able to recover compensation by filing a product liability lawsuit.
3. Property owners. There are several ways property owners could cause bicycle accidents. For example, property owners could fail to maintain their sidewalks. Cracks, potholes and other obstacles could cause a bicycle accident. In this case, it may be possible for a cyclist or their loved ones to file a premises liability lawsuit.
4. Municipalities. Municipalities can be responsible for bicycle accidents. We recently posted a blog on several recent San Diego bicycle accidents caused by potholes and other problems with infrastructure. In some of these cases, injured bicyclists or their grieving loved ones recovered compensation from the City of San Diego.
5. Other businesses. A business could be liable for a bicycle accident if one of their employees hits a cyclist while on the job. For example, a private transportation company might be liable if they negligently hired and retained a driver who caused a bicycle accident.

Contact Our San Diego Bicycle Accident Attorney to Learn More

San Diego bicycle accident attorney Joshua Bonnici can help you determine liability if you or a loved one suffered harm while cycling. You can continue to learn about bicycle accidents and bicycle safety by following our blog updates. For future updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.