Hurt in a Bicycle Crash in Kern County? Talk With Colvin Accident Lawyers

A bicycle accident attorney in Kern County helps injured riders and their families pursue a claim against the people or groups responsible for a crash. Colvin Accident Lawyers is based in Bakersfield, California, and handles bicycle injury claims. Many riders think a crash is only their problem. Under California law, it may be a legal claim, and the early steps matter. This guide explains who may be responsible, what a claim can cover, and how the process works.

Who a Bicycle Accident Attorney Helps in Kern County

A bicycle accident attorney investigates the crash, identifies who may be responsible, handles contact with insurers, and pursues the injury claim.

This page is for three kinds of readers. The first is the rider who was struck, doored or thrown from a bike. The second is the family of a rider who was seriously hurt or killed. The third is the rider who isn’t sure the crash is worth raising with a lawyer.

A crash can support a claim even when the rider believes they did nothing wrong. That’s why an early review helps. The facts of the crash, the injuries and any insurer contact so far all shape the next step.

Our team is based in Bakersfield. Riders in Kern County, including Delano and Tehachapi, can contact our office about a bicycle crash.

Bicycle Accidents This Practice Handles

Our bicycle practice covers crashes where a driver, a property owner or a road condition caused the rider’s injury.

• Vehicle collisions: cars, trucks and buses that turn into a rider, fail to yield or fail to check for riders.
• Dooring: a parked car’s occupant opens a door into a rider’s path.
• Hit-and-run crashes: the driver leaves the scene.
• Uninsured or underinsured drivers: the at-fault driver has little or no coverage.
• Road and path hazards: potholes, debris or uneven pavement on public or private land.
• Serious injuries: fractures, head and brain injuries, spinal injuries, and road rash that needs surgery.
• Wrongful death: a rider dies in the crash.

Each type needs different early steps. A dooring case often turns on the parked car’s occupant and the rider’s path. A hit-and-run case may turn on your own insurance coverage. Commercial crashes can involve more than one company, so the facts about who employed the driver matter.

Who May Be Liable and How Fault Works in California

Civil Code § 1714 states this rule.

See Daly v. General Motors Corp. for this rule.

When more than one defendant is at fault, Civil Code § 1431.2 limits each defendant’s share of non-economic damages to its percentage of fault. That is why a driver, a path owner and a public agency may each face a separate share.

Private trails follow another rule. Civil Code § 846 generally limits an owner’s duty of care for land open to recreational riding. It does not reach willful or malicious failure to guard or warn of a hazard, injury where permission to enter was granted for a consideration (such as a fee), or people the owner expressly invited.

Evidence matters. Police reports, photos, witness names, camera footage and vehicle damage records help show what happened. Whether a particular claim has merit depends on the facts of that crash.

What a Bicycle Injury Claim May Cover

A bicycle injury claim can seek money for the losses the crash caused. Under Civil Code § 3281, a person harmed by another’s unlawful act may recover compensation in money from the person at fault.

Economic damages are objectively verifiable money losses. They include medical expenses, lost earnings, lost work opportunities, burial costs, and the cost to repair or replace property such as the bike, helmet and gear.

Non-economic damages are subjective losses. They include pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, and loss of society and companionship.

Under Civil Code § 3333, for breach of an obligation not arising from contract, damages compensate for all the detriment proximately caused, whether it could have been anticipated or not, except where the Code otherwise expressly provides. Punitive damages under Civil Code § 3294 require clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice; for a corporate employer, the advance knowledge and conscious disregard, authorization, ratification or act of oppression, fraud, or malice must be on the part of an officer, director, or managing agent of the corporation.

No lawyer can predict what a particular claim will be worth. Each claim turns on its own facts and injuries.

How Your Bicycle Accident Case Works, Step by Step

A bicycle case usually moves through a first conversation, evidence protection, investigation, a demand to the insurer, and a lawsuit only if needed.

1. First conversation. We review the crash, your injuries and any insurer contact so far.
2. Protect evidence. Keep the bike, helmet, clothing, photos and medical records. Don’t repair or discard the bike before talking with a lawyer. Hold off on recorded statements to an insurer until you’ve spoken with counsel.
3. Investigate and document. We gather the police report, vehicle and scene records, and medical records, and coordinate with your treating providers.
4. Demand and negotiate. The claim goes to the responsible insurer or party with a written demand.
5. File suit if needed. Timelines vary. A case may resolve before trial or go to trial.

Deadlines matter. California personal injury lawsuits generally must be filed within two years of the injury, subject to exceptions. The California Courts Self-Help Guide explains this general rule and its exceptions. Wrongful death cases also fall under the two-year limit for an action for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1), so ask early. Claims against a city, county or other public agency follow different and shorter steps.

Why Choose Colvin Accident Lawyers for a Bicycle Case

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury and wrongful death firm based in Bakersfield, California. Donald Norman Colvin, a California-licensed attorney, is responsible for this site.

Our team includes assistants and office staff. They help with intake, records, scheduling and client communication.

The firm handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims. A bicycle crash can involve several of these areas, so we review the whole set of facts.

We explain what your claim involves, what the next step is and what to expect at each stage, in plain language.

Common Questions About Bicycle Accident Claims in Kern County

Most riders ask the same questions after a crash. Here are short answers.