The argument in almost every California bicycle claim is about where the cyclist was riding, and it usually starts from a rule the driver has misremembered.
Cyclists are not required to hug the curb. California law asks a cyclist moving slower than traffic to ride as close as practicable to the right, and then sets out five situations where they need not, one of which is a lane too narrow for a bicycle and a car to travel side by side safely. That describes most lanes in most California cities. A rider taking the lane is usually doing the lawful thing and the safer thing at the same time.
Culver Legal has recovered $200 Million and counting for injured people in California. We work on contingency, we advance the costs of the case, and there is no fee unless we win. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour.
Who Is at Fault If a Car Hits a Bicycle?
Fault goes to whoever failed to use reasonable care, and being on a bicycle does not shift that starting point.
A cyclist on a public road has the rights and duties of a driver. So the ordinary rules decide it: who had the right of way, who was turning across whom, who was following too closely, who failed to look. What makes bicycle cases different is not the law, it is that the driver’s account is the one that gets recorded first and the cyclist is frequently in an ambulance while it is being taken.
The three rules that decide most of these cases:
Under Vehicle Code 21202, a cyclist riding slower than traffic keeps as close as practicable to the right except when overtaking, preparing for a left turn, avoiding a hazard, approaching a right-turn lane, or riding in a substandard width lane, which the statute defines as one “too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side”. That exception does an enormous amount of work and almost nobody outside cycling knows it exists.
Under Vehicle Code 21760, the Three Feet for Safety Act, a driver may not pass a cyclist at less than three feet between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or rider. Passing close is a violation, not a judgment call.
Under Vehicle Code 22517, nobody may open a vehicle door on the traffic side “unless it is reasonably safe to do so”. The duty sits with the person opening the door, which is the answer to the very common suggestion that a doored cyclist should have anticipated it.
Told you should not have been out in the lane?
California law expressly allows it where the lane is too narrow to share, which is most lanes. That is worth correcting before an adjuster writes it down.
Do I Have to Wear a Helmet, and Does It Affect My Claim?
In California a helmet is required only for riders under 18, and an adult riding without one has broken no law.
Vehicle Code 21212 requires a properly fitted and fastened helmet for anybody under 18 riding a bicycle, scooter or skateboard, or carried as a passenger. There is no adult requirement, which is the opposite of the motorcycle rule and a difference insurers rely on people not knowing.
It can still be raised, and it does not end a claim. Where a head injury is claimed, an insurer may argue a helmet would have reduced it, and under California’s pure comparative fault rule that argument reduces recovery in proportion at most. For an adult it also starts from a weaker place, because there was no legal duty to wear one.
Can You Sue Someone for Hitting You on a Bike?
Yes. A cyclist injured by a driver’s negligence has the same right to bring a claim as anyone injured in a vehicle, and the same two-year deadline applies.
The claim runs against the driver, and frequently against others: their employer if they were working, a public entity if a road defect or a badly designed bike lane contributed, or a property owner where a hazard forced the rider into traffic.
Your own auto insurance may pay even though you were on a bicycle. This surprises almost everybody. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on a policy you hold as a driver generally follows you as a person rather than the vehicle, so a cyclist hit by an uninsured driver, or by a driver carrying California’s $30,000 minimum, may have coverage of their own to reach. It is the first thing worth checking after a serious bicycle collision and it is almost never mentioned.
What Should You Not Say After a Bike Accident?
Do not say you are fine, and do not guess at anything.
“I’m okay” at the roadside is the single most costly sentence in these cases. Adrenaline masks injury for hours, and that phrase goes into the report and into the adjuster’s file. Say instead that you are hurt or that you do not yet know, both of which are true.
Do not estimate your speed, the driver’s speed, or distances. Do not apologize, which people do reflexively and insurers read as an admission. Do not agree to a recorded statement for the other driver’s insurer before taking advice. And do not post about it, because an insurer will find the post and the photograph of you on a bike three weeks later.
What Is a Bicycle Accident Claim Worth in California?
There is no formula, and any page giving you an average is describing other people’s cases.
A claim is built from the parts: medical treatment received and still ahead, wages lost, reduced earning capacity, the bicycle and gear, and non-economic loss for pain, limitation and the things you can no longer do. Bicycle injuries skew toward fractures, road rash needing grafts and head injuries, so more of the value usually sits in future care than in bills already received.
How is pain and suffering calculated in California? It is not, in the sense people mean. California law sets no multiplier and no table, and imposes no cap in an ordinary injury claim. It is argued from evidence: how long and difficult the treatment was, what you cannot do now, and the accounts of people who knew you before. Psychological injury counts too, including anxiety about riding and a post-traumatic stress diagnosis, provided somebody treating you has documented it.
What Does a Lawyer Cost, and How Much of a Settlement Do I Actually Receive?
Nothing up front, and the amount you receive is less than the headline figure for reasons worth understanding before you sign anything.
Personal injury work in California is done on contingency: the fee is a percentage of the recovery and there is no fee if there is no recovery. The percentage is in a written fee agreement, which California requires to be in writing and given to the client. That document governs, not a number on a website.
What comes out of a settlement, in order: the attorney’s fee under that agreement, then the case costs advanced to build the claim (records, filing fees, expert reports), then any medical liens where a provider or health plan has a right to be repaid. The remainder is yours.
That is the honest answer to “how much of a settlement will I get”, and it is the question people are most reluctant to ask out loud.
How Long Do I Have to File?
Two years from the date of injury, under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
Six months to present a written claim to a public entity, under Government Code 911.2. This matters more for cyclists than for drivers, because bike lane design, a road defect, a raised utility cover or a poorly reinstated trench are frequently part of what happened.
Injured children. Code of Civil Procedure 352 pauses the ordinary period while an injured person is under 18. The six-month government claim rule is not paused in the same way, which is a real trap given how many injured cyclists are children.
Did a road defect or a bike lane design contribute?
That puts you on a six-month written deadline instead of two years.
When It Becomes a Different Kind of Claim
A head strike raises a traumatic brain injury question that a clear emergency scan does not answer. The most severe outcomes fall under catastrophic injury. Where a cyclist is killed, the family is bringing a wrongful death claim under a statute that limits who may file. Where the vehicle involved was a truck or an Uber or Lyft, far more insurance is available than in an ordinary car accident claim, and where a hazard on private property forced the rider into the road it becomes a premises liability question too.
Where We Handle Bicycle Cases
We take bicycle cases across California: Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, San Diego, Gardena, San Francisco and Long Beach.
Why Cyclists Choose Culver Legal
We come to you. If you are in the hospital, at home, or without transport because your bike is destroyed, we will meet you where you are.
Our team speaks Spanish, Farsi, Filipino, Hindi, Mandarin and Korean. Explaining your own accident in your own words is not a convenience.
The economics are simple. The firm works on contingency and advances the costs of the case, so there is nothing to pay up front and no fee unless we win, and somebody answers the phone 24 hours a day.
California Bicycle Accident FAQs
Who is at fault if a car hits a bicycle?
Whoever failed to use reasonable care. A cyclist on the road has the rights and duties of a driver, so right of way, turning and following distance decide it exactly as they would between two vehicles.
Do I have to ride in the bike lane or next to the curb?
Not always. Vehicle Code 21202 requires a slower cyclist to keep as close as practicable to the right but lists five exceptions, including a lane too narrow for a bicycle and a car to travel safely side by side. Taking the lane in that situation is lawful.
How close can a car legally pass me?
No closer than three feet, under the Three Feet for Safety Act in Vehicle Code 21760, measured between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or rider.
I was doored. Is the driver or passenger responsible?
The person who opened the door. Vehicle Code 22517 prohibits opening a door on the traffic side unless it is reasonably safe, and the duty sits with them rather than with the approaching cyclist.
I was not wearing a helmet. Does that end my claim?
No, and for an adult in California there was no legal requirement to wear one. Vehicle Code 21212 applies only to riders under 18. An insurer may still argue it reduced nothing, and under pure comparative fault that reduces recovery at most rather than barring it.
Can you sue someone for hitting you on a bike?
Yes, on the same basis and the same two-year deadline as any injury claim, and often against more than one party.
The driver had no insurance. Do I have any options?
Very possibly. Uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy generally follows you as a person rather than the car, so it can apply even though you were cycling. Check your declarations page.
What should you not say after a bike accident?
Do not say you are fine, do not estimate speeds or distances, do not apologize, and do not give the other insurer a recorded statement before taking advice.
How is pain and suffering calculated in California?
There is no formula, no multiplier written into law and no cap in an ordinary injury claim. It is argued from the evidence of what treatment involved and what you can no longer do.
How much of a settlement do I actually receive?
The headline figure less the attorney’s fee under your written agreement, less the case costs advanced, less any medical liens. Ask for that breakdown at the first meeting.
Contact a Culver Legal Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Most bicycle claims are decided on a question of where the rider should have been, and the answer is usually further out into the lane than the driver believes. If you were injured cycling anywhere in California, reach us at (310) 600-7881, at any hour. The review costs nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Culver Legal, LLP is a California law firm. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
