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Bicycle Accident Attorney Lancaster: Claims, Damages, and Deadlines

Who This Page Is For and What a Bicycle Accident Claim Involves

If you are looking for a bicycle accident attorney Lancaster riders can contact, this page explains how a bicycle claim works in California. It is written for injured cyclists in Lancaster, Palmdale, and the Antelope Valley, and for families who lost someone in a bicycle crash.

A bicycle accident claim asks the person or party whose negligence caused a crash to pay for the harm it caused.

Under California Civil Code § 1714, a person can be responsible for injury caused by a lack of ordinary care. That rule applies to drivers, property owners, and others whose careless acts put a rider in harm’s way.

Common bicycle crash types include:

• Car dooring, when a parked car’s door opens into a rider’s path
• Drivers who fail to yield at intersections
• Rear-end and sideswipe collisions
• Crashes with buses and trucks
• Road hazards, such as potholes, debris, or poor road design

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury practice based in Bakersfield, California. It handles bicycle, car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death matters.

What Your Claim Can Cover: Injuries and Damages

A bicycle claim can seek money for medical bills, lost income, and other harm the crash caused. Lawyers call these losses damages.

Cyclists often suffer broken bones, head injuries, facial injuries, road rash, and soft-tissue injuries. Serious crashes can cause lasting harm, which can affect how a claim is valued.

Economic damages are money losses you can document. California law describes them as “objectively verifiable monetary losses,” including medical expenses and loss of earnings (Civil Code § 1431.2). In practice, that can include:

• Emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation
• Medication and future medical care
• Lost wages and lost earning ability
• A replacement bicycle, helmet, and other gear

Non-economic damages cover harm that has no price tag. The same statute lists pain, suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, and loss of companionship (Civil Code § 1431.2).

What shapes a claim is medical records that link injuries to the crash, how serious and lasting the injuries are, and proof of fault. No two cases are alike, so no amount can be predicted at the start.

For families, a wrongful death claim can include burial costs, lost financial support, and loss of companionship. These claims follow their own rules, so families should ask about them early.

Who Can Be Responsible and How Fault Is Shared in California

More than one party can share responsibility for a bicycle crash. Each party pays only its own share of non-economic damages, based on its percentage of fault (Civil Code § 1431.2). How fault is shared in a bicycle accident can affect a rider’s claim, and the answer depends on the facts of each case.

Possible responsible parties include:

• The at-fault driver
• A trucking or bus company, when a commercial vehicle is involved (federal drug testing rules)
• A property owner or public agency, for a dangerous road condition

Insurers often argue that a cyclist swerved, rode unsafely, or was out of place on the road. Photos, witness statements, vehicle data, and police reports help answer those points. Don’t give a recorded statement to an adjuster before you talk with a lawyer.

How the Process Works and What Deadlines Apply

Your first step is a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue. You describe the crash and your injuries, and we explain what comes next.

A typical case moves through these steps:

1. Consultation: We review the crash details, your injuries, and any insurance you have.
2. Investigation: We gather the crash report, scene evidence, and medical records.
3. Treatment: Medical care comes first. Keep every appointment and save every bill.
4. Demand and negotiation: We may send a demand letter to insurers. Timing varies, and results aren’t promised.
5. Lawsuit, if needed: If talks stall, a lawsuit may be filed, followed by discovery and possibly trial.

Deadlines matter. For most personal injury lawsuits, California generally allows two years (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1; California Courts Self-Help Guide). A claim against a government agency generally must be presented within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). Because these deadlines can be short, early review matters.

Before you sign, ask how fees are calculated. Ask whether you will owe costs the firm advances if there is no recovery.

Why Work With Colvin Accident Lawyers

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a Bakersfield practice. Donald Norman Colvin is the lawyer who handles these matters, and our team supports each case with intake, records requests, and scheduling.

The practice handles car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death matters. Clients from Lancaster, Palmdale, Tehachapi, Delano, Visalia, Fresno, and across Kern County can reach out through our contact form.

Every case depends on its own facts, and results differ when the facts differ.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bicycle Accident Claims

Talk With Colvin Accident Lawyers About Your Lancaster Crash

If you’re still treating injuries, handling bills, and fielding calls from an adjuster after a Lancaster bicycle crash, you don’t have to sort out fault and deadlines alone. Families facing a loss from a fatal collision have the same option. Contact Colvin Accident Lawyers through our contact form for a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue.