Personal Injury Advocate
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Were you hit by a car while riding your bike?

We are sorry this happened to you. If a driver hit you while you were cycling, you are not alone.

Are you in an emergency right now?

  • Check yourself for injuries, especially to your head.
  • Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is not safe.
  • Move off the road if you can do it safely.
  • Get medical care even if you feel fine. Some injuries hide for days.
  • This page is for after you are safe.

This page covers bicycle accident claim deadlines and what to do right now. We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

In 2023, 1,155 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles nationwide, a 5% increase from the year before (NHTSA).

Why bicycle claims get tricky

Insurance adjusters, police, and even juries sometimes assume the cyclist was careless just for being on the road. Fault gets pinned on the cyclist by default, even when a driver turns into a bike lane or fails to check a mirror. Talk to an advocate before you accept any fault determination.

In some states, an insurance company may argue that not wearing a helmet reduces what they owe, even where helmet laws only apply to minors or do not exist. Whether this argument holds depends on your state, so do not assume it applies to you.

There is often no police report if a crash felt minor at first, which can make it your word against the driver's later. This case type overlaps with car crash claims; see our car crash guide for general documentation steps.

Protect your case

  1. Get medical care right away, even if you feel fine. A doctor can document road rash, fractures, or a head injury that adrenaline may be hiding.
  2. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
  3. Call the police and ask for a written report, even for a crash that feels minor.
  4. Photograph the scene: your bike's damage, the vehicle, skid marks, and your injuries.
  5. Get names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened.
  6. Keep your bike and gear as they were after the crash. Damage patterns can help show how it happened.
  7. Warning: don't wait! The 2-year injury clock is a trap in many states, and some run longer or shorter, so people wait, and waiting kills cases. The longer you wait, the fuzzier memories get and witnesses move on. Talk to an advocate immediately. A crash tied to a hospital stay can carry a shorter medical deadline, so do not assume the standard rule covers your case. Find your state on our state pages.

Never do these

What real bicycle cases have paid

These are publicly reported results. They are examples only, not a promise of what your case is worth. We are not a law firm.

Most bicycle injury claims settle for far less than these, and outcomes depend on the state, the insurance available, and the facts of the crash.

When it goes wrong: a true story

Gwen Inglis was riding in a marked bike lane in Boulder, Colorado, in 2021 when a driver under the influence of drugs struck and killed her. The criminal case ended with a lighter sentence than her family expected. Her husband then brought a separate civil case, and a jury awarded $353 million, a judgment separate from and much larger than what the criminal court could order (CBS News Colorado). Talk to an advocate early if you are relying only on the outcome of a criminal case for accountability.

What we can help with

We help you understand what documentation supports your claim, understand how to push back on unfair fault arguments, and connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours. All of it is free to you. We never take money from injured people.

Talk to an advocate. It is free, and it only takes a few minutes.

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