How Do I Prove Negligence in a Bike Accident?

If you have been struck while riding your bicycle, financial recovery will depend on proving the driver’s negligence. When a driver acts with less than reasonable care and causes another person harm, that person may be entitled to compensation. Although it may be easiest to blame the nearest driver for your injuries, more than one party may be liable. A successful bike accident claim involves having strong evidence proving the other party’s liability and the assistance of our South Carolina bicycle accident attorneys.

Elements of a Negligence Claim

Negligence occurs anytime a party acts with less care than a prudent person would under the same circumstances. Successful recovery in a South Carolina bike accident claim depends on establishing the following:

Duty of Care

The duty of care owed to another person will vary based on the activity. For instance, every motorist has a duty to follow traffic regulations to ensure the safety of others.

Breach of Duty

Through either an act or failure to act, a motorist fails to uphold their duty of care when they break a traffic law. In a bike crash, common examples include running a red light, failing to yield right-of-way, or failing to maintain a safe speed between a motor vehicle and a bicycle. SC Code §56-5-3435 states that motorists must maintain a safe distance between their car and a bicycle. Although the exact distance is not specified, three feet is generally considered a safe operating distance.

Causation

Often the most difficult element to prove, causation requires that you establish a causal link between the driver’s actions and the bike rider’s injuries. Causation involves proving actual cause and proximate (legal) cause. Simply showing that you have suffered injuries is not enough. Rather, you must show how the motorist’s behavior harmed you.

Actual cause, also known as cause-in-fact, requires proving that the driver’s actions set into motion a chain of events that caused the cyclist’s injuries. In personal injury cases, cause-in-fact is often tested using the but-for test. For example, if a motorist fails to yield right-of-way and ends up hitting a bicyclist, the but-for test would ask: “But for the motorist failing to yield right-of-way, would the bicyclist have sustained a head injury?” If the answer is no, then the motorist is the actual cause of the cyclist’s injuries.

Proximate or legal cause implies that a defendant’s actions are the legal cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. Generally, this is determined using the foreseeability test. If a bicycle accident was not foreseeable given the defendant’s actions, then the defendant cannot be held liable for the harm sustained. For example, if a driver strikes a bicyclist but claims that the cause of the accident was a glitch in the car’s technology that caused the car to accelerate instead of stopping, proximate cause may be difficult to establish.

Alternatively, if there is an intervening factor, the proximate cause may be an issue. An intervening factor would be an event that occurs between the defendant’s initial act and the cyclist’s injuries. For example, a driver may fail to yield right-of-way because he or she is being tailgated. The tailgating driver is an intervening factor, making legal liability unclear.

Damages

As a result of the plaintiff’s injuries, they have sustained measurable losses. In a bike accident, this may include lost wages, medical expenses, and bike repairs and/or replacement. Damages may be financial, physical, or emotional. Proving damages is separate from proving liability, requiring that you show proof of lost wages (pay stubs, W2s, and tax returns), medical records (to highlight the extent and severity of your injuries), medical invoices, and bike repair invoices.

Maximum Recovery Depends on Convincing Evidence

At Kinon Law Firm, our personal injury attorneys strive to help injured parties recover maximum compensation for their losses. Proving that a driver or more than one driver caused your injuries can be challenging. This is certainly true when the other driver has conflicting testimony from yours.

Our South Carolina bike accident attorneys are dedicated to finding the necessary evidence to show the at-fault party’s wrongdoing. In a bike accident claim, this often includes photographs of skid marks, damaged bike parts, and your injuries, as well as eyewitness statements. We believe that our job is not done until you have been compensated fully for your injuries and any accident-related expenses.

South Carolina Bike Accident Lawyers Advocating on Your Behalf

Although riding a bicycle should be liberating and a great form of exercise, it does come with inherent risks. If you have recently been injured while riding your bike in The Palmetto State, our South Carolina bike accident attorneys would like to help you in filing your accident claim. To arrange your free case assessment, contact Kinon Law Firm online or by calling (843) 488-9191.