Losing a Loved One in a Bicycle Crash? You Do Not Have to Face It Alone

A bicycle crash death claim California families can bring is a civil case for losses after a cyclist dies because another person was negligent. Its deadlines start early, and some are shorter than most people expect. This guide explains who can file, who may be responsible, which dates matter first, and what a claim can cover.

Who Can Bring a Bicycle Crash Death Claim?

A personal representative can also file on their behalf.

California sets out who may sue in a wrongful death case under Code Civ. Proc. § 377.60. The list starts with the surviving spouse, domestic partner, and children. If no descendants survive, the people who would inherit the person’s property under state law may sue. Parents, stepchildren, and others who depended on the person may also qualify.

Families often ask whether they qualify. Those rules turn on family relationships and who depended on the person. A short review of those facts is a useful first step.

Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Fatal Bicycle Crash?

Any person whose carelessness caused the crash can be held responsible, including a driver of a car, truck, or bus.

California law makes a person responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care (Civ. Code § 1714). In a crash, that can mean a driver who ran a stop sign, cut across a cyclist’s path, opened a car door, or was distracted. A driver is responsible for an injury caused by his or her own want of ordinary care (Civ. Code § 1714), but an employer’s share of responsibility for a driver who was working is not found in that section. A property owner may also be responsible when a dangerous condition on its land contributed to the crash.

When a city, county, or state agency controls the road, trail, or intersection, different rules apply. Under Gov. Code § 835, the claim must show that the property was in a dangerous condition and that the condition caused the injury. It must also show a foreseeable risk of that kind of injury. Finally, it must show that a negligent or wrongful act or omission of a public employee within the scope of employment created the condition, or that the agency had actual or constructive notice of it a sufficient time before the injury to act.

Fault is proven with evidence. Useful proof often includes the police report, traffic or dash camera video, witness statements, vehicle damage, and roadway measurements.

What Deadlines Should a Family Check First?

The first deadline to check is six months when a public agency may be responsible. A bicycle crash death claim California has more than one clock, so one date cannot cover everything.

A claim for death, injury to person, or injury to personal property or growing crops must be presented within six months after the cause of action accrues; other claims have one year (Gov. Code § 911.2). Except as provided in Sections 946.4 and 946.6, no lawsuit against a public entity can start until the written claim has been acted on or deemed rejected (Gov. Code § 945.4). After rejection, a suit generally must start within six months after written notice is delivered or mailed (Gov. Code § 945.6); under Gov. Code § 946.6, a petition for relief must be filed within six months after the claim application is denied or deemed denied. If that notice was not given properly, the suit period is two years from when the claim arose (Gov. Code § 945.6).

For a lawsuit against a private driver or other private party, the general period is two years for a death caused by someone else’s wrongful act or neglect (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1).

Families should not assume the two-year date is the only one. The government claim clock is much shorter. The statutes also include exceptions, so these dates need a careful review. A missed step can limit or end a claim.

How a Fatal Bicycle Crash Claim Moves Forward

A bicycle crash death claim California usually moves through five steps: gather the basics, investigate, find the right defendant, submit, and negotiate or sue.

1. Gather the basics. Collect the crash report number, the person’s identifying details, medical and funeral bills, and family contact information.
2. Investigate. Request the police report, keep the bicycle and helmet unchanged, collect any video, and identify every insurer involved.
3. Find the right defendant. A private driver’s insurer and a public agency follow different paths.
4. Submit and track. Send any required claim in writing and track each response, including any board decision or rejection.
5. Negotiate, then sue if needed. Settlement talks come first. A lawsuit follows when a fair resolution is not reached.

Timelines vary with the crash facts, the insurers involved, and whether a public agency is a defendant.

What Can a Wrongful Death Claim Include?

A wrongful death claim can seek economic losses, like medical and burial costs. It can also seek non-economic losses, like loss of companionship. California treats the two types differently.

Economic damages are objectively verifiable money losses, such as medical expenses, loss of earnings, and burial costs. Non-economic damages are subjective losses, such as loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, and emotional distress (Civ. Code § 1431.2).

When more than one party shares fault, each defendant pays only its own share of non-economic damages. That share follows its percentage of fault under the same statute.

Insurance limits can also shape what a family can collect in practice. No dollar figure can be predicted from general information. Results in other cases do not set the value of this one.

How Should Families Handle Calls From Insurance Companies?

Families can take time before giving any recorded statement. They should not sign anything until they understand the claim.

Insurance representatives may call early and ask for a recorded statement. Sympathy and fault are treated differently. Under Evid. Code § 1160, expressions of sympathy relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person involved in an accident, made to that person or to the family of that person, are not admissible as evidence of an admission of liability in a civil action. A statement of fault is not protected by that rule.

Keep a simple record:

• The police report number
• Medical, funeral, and other bills and receipts
• Photos of the scene, the bicycle, and the vehicles
• A log of every insurer call, with the date and the caller’s name

Pause social media posts about the crash, the person who died, and the case. Anything posted can be used by the other side.

How Colvin Accident Lawyers Can Help

Colvin Accident Lawyers is a personal injury firm based in Bakersfield, California. It represents accident victims and families in bicycle, car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, bus, dog bite, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases.

Donald Norman Colvin is the responsible lawyer for this page. Our team includes support staff and assistants. The firm is based in Bakersfield, California.

The first conversation focuses on the crash, the dates that matter, and who may be responsible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Colvin Accident Lawyers, Bakersfield, California — responsible for this site. Responsible lawyer: Donald Norman Colvin.