Children can be killed or injured in bicycle accidents as a result of the negligence of drivers, the negligence of individuals or entities responsible for maintaining bike paths or roads, defects in bicycles or bicycle safety equipment, and/or defects in other motor vehicles.
Child injury and bicycle accident attorney Jeff Killino has extensive experience with all types of child injury and accident cases, including those arising out of injuries or deaths sustained in bicycle accidents. If your child has been injured or killed in a bicycle accident and you suspect that someone’s negligence or a defect in your child’s bicycle, bicycle safety equipment, or another vehicle was a cause of your child’s injury or death, you may be entitled to compensation through legal action. Contact attorney Killino at 877-875-2927 for a no-cost evaluation of your case and addition information about your legal options.
Legal Liability for Children’s Bicycle Accident Injuries and Deaths
Bicycle accidents may be caused by the negligence of drivers and others, as well as by defective products. In some cases, types of bicycle accidents may be caused by a combination of negligence and a defect in a bike, other vehicle, or bicycle safety equipment.
Liability for Negligently Caused Bicycle Accident Injuries and Deaths
Bicycles, which are considered motor vehicles, often share the roads with other motor vehicles. Child bicyclists who ride on roads and streets may, thus, be injured or killed in bike and motor vehicle crashes as a result of the negligence of drivers of other motor vehicles. The drivers of cars and other non-bike motor vehicles have a duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of bicyclists who are riding on a street or road. This duty includes the responsibility to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists as well as larger vehicles and to give bicyclists the right of way when the bicyclists are entitled to it. Such drivers are also required to obey all traffic laws and rules of the road.
Any violation of such laws or rules, or other failure to exercise due care for a bicyclist’s safety, may be found to constitute negligence on the part of a driver involved in a bicycle and non-bike vehicle crash. Such negligence may be found to exist as a result of a driver’s violation of a speed limit, driving too fast for current weather conditions, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or inattentive driving. A driver’s failure to signal a turn or lane change when a bicyclist is near may also be found to constitute negligence on the part of the driver. Under the negligence laws of most states, the driver of a non-bike vehicle who is found to have been negligent in these or other ways may be held liable for the injuries or death of a bicyclist if the bicyclist’s death or injuries are determined to have been caused by the driver’s negligence.
In some cases, the negligence of individuals or entities responsible for the maintenance of surfaces on which bicyclists ride may be held liable for bicyclists’ injuries or deaths determined to have been caused by negligent maintenance. In some states, a city, town, or other governmental entity that causes a child’s bicycle accident injuries or death through negligent maintenance may be granted sovereign immunity, relieving the entity of liability for the child’s injuries or death. In addition, if the owner of such a surface has held the land open to the public for no charge, the owner may be relieved of liability, under some states’ Recreational Use Statutes, for a children’s bicycle accident injuries or deaths caused by poor maintenance of the surface. This relief from liability is sometimes given only to owners of unimproved land, however.
Liability for Bicycle Accident Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defective Vehicles and Other Products
Bicycle accident injuries or deaths may also be caused by a defect in a child’s bike or safety equipment (such as a bicycle helmet) or a defect in another motor vehicle involved in a traffic accident between a bicycle and other motor vehicle. Under most states’ product liability laws, the manufacturers of bicycles, bicycle safety equipment, and other motor vehicles may be found liable, along with other defendants, for injuries or deaths determined to have been caused by defects in such products.
Though product liability laws may vary from one state to another, most states’ product liability laws provide for product liability actions in the form of breach of warranty, negligence, and strict liability claims. Breach of warranty claims are generally brought to recover the economic costs of consumers’ purchases of defective products, while negligence or strict liability claims are generally brought to recover damages resulting from someone’s personal injury or death. Strict liability claims are usually favored over negligence claims, however, as they allow a plaintiff to hold certain defendants liable for injuries or deaths caused by product defects without the necessity of proving negligence on the part of any of the defendants. Such defendants may include the designers, manufacturers, assemblers, suppliers, and retailers of defective products. In some states, the retailers of defective motor vehicles may be relieved of strict liability for injuries or deaths caused by vehicle defects of which the retailers had no knowledge.
Contact Us
If your child has been injured or killed in a bicycle accident as a result of someone’s negligence, a defect in your child’s bike or safety equipment, or a defect in another motor vehicle, child injury and bicycle accident lawyer Jeff Killino can help you seek justice from all those responsible for your child’s injuries or death. Contact attorney The Killino Firm at 877-875-2927 for expert and experienced assistance with your child’s bicycle accident case.
