Bicycle Accidents

A 40-year-old bicyclist suffered major injuries in a Costa Mesa car crash after being hit from behind by a vehicle. According to a news report in The Daily Pilot, the injury collision occurred in the 1200 block of Victoria Street the evening of January 21, 2013. Police say a 2009 Toyota Corolla driven by a 26-year-old struck the cyclist. The bicyclist sustained major head injuries. Both the cyclist and driver are Costa Mesa residents. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police at 714-754-5264. The investigation into this collision is ongoing.

OC Bicycle Accident Statistics

California Highway Patrol reports that there were no fatalities, but 82 injuries reported as a result of bicycle accidents in Costa Mesa in 2010. During the same year, three people died and 1,187 were injured as a result of bicycle accidents in Orange County as a whole. Also, 100 fatalities and 13,368 injuries were reported due to car accidents countywide in 2010.

What Caused the Collision?

Based on this news report, it appears that the cyclist was struck from behind by the Toyota. There are still several questions here. How did this collision occur? Who was at fault? Where was the bicyclist riding at the time of the collision? Was the motorist inattentive or distracted? Was there a dangerous condition on the roadway that may have caused or contributed to this accident? Was the driver of the vehicle impaired or speeding at the time? I trust officials are looking into these and other issues in order to determine precisely what occurred here and why.

Rights of Injured Victims

If the driver is determined to have been at fault, then, he or she can be held liable for the injuries and damages caused. If a dangerous condition on the roadway contributed to the incident, then, the city or governmental agency responsible for maintaining the roadway can also be held liable. Injured victims in such cases can seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, lost wages, hospitalization and rehabilitation costs, permanent injuries, pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Injured victims and their families should remember not to rush into settlement with an insurance company or any other party. It would be in their best interest to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in Costa Mesa who will explain their rights and present their options. Victims must also refrain from signing any documents that will grant insurance companies or other parties access to their personal information such as medical and financial records.

Source: http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-0123-victoria-bicycle-20130122,0,483992.story

Los Angeles will soon have a citywide bike-share program, according to a Dec. 22 article in the Los Angeles Times. Bike Nation USA, a bike-share company, announced its plans this week to begin rolling out its bike-share program in downtown Los Angeles as early as April. So far no contract has been signed or permit, issued. But Bike Nation has pledged $16 million toward eventually installing as many as 400 bike-share kiosks with 4,000 rental bikes across the city in areas such as Westwood, Hollywood and the beachside communities, the Times reports.

Test Operation

Bike Nation executives say they will first start a small testing operation in downtown in April. Kiosks with about 10 bikes will be set up at various high-traffic locations including Union Station, the Caltrans building on Main Street, City Hall, the Hall of Administration and LAPD headquarters. The report states that bicyclists in Los Angeles will be able to rent bikes for $6 a day, $1.50 an hour or $4.50 for 90 minutes. Trips under 30 minutes will be free and one-year passes will cost $75. The same company, Bike Nation, has also installed a similar system in Anaheim and is making plans to start bike-share programs in Long Beach and Fullerton.

It’s about time that these bike-share programs are introduced in Los Angeles, where we have the advantage of good weather year-round. Riding a bicycle is not only a great way to save money and get healthy, but it is also an effective way to conserve the environment and reduce our dependency on oil. Bike-share programs are commonly found in many cities in Europe including Paris and London. They are quickly gaining in popularity in the United States in cities such as New York and Washington D.C.

Bicyclist Safety

In addition to encouraging bike-share programs, cities and counties should also hold up their end of the bargain by making our streets safer for bicyclists. As a bicycle accident attorney who represents injured victims and families of deceased victims, I’m deeply concerned about how dangerous our roadways have become for bikers. Ghost bikes, where local biking groups place a white bike to memorialize a bike accident victim, are common sights in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Encouraging bike-share programs is wonderful. At the same time bicycle safety in Los Angeles is a concern. We need the infrastructure to keep up with these programs.

The Orange County Register reports that “ghost bikes,” white-painted bicycles that offer a stark reminder of those killed in bicycling accidents, are being chained to posts around the county. About a dozen of the memorials have been placed in spots where bicycle riders have been killed by drivers in an effort to bring attention to this growing problem.

What Are Ghost Bikes?

While those who place ghost bikes as memorials in various locations are not completely anonymous, they prefer to stay out of the spotlight. The first ghost bikes appear to have been placed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2003. Since then, the custom of spray-painting bikes a ghostly white and leaving them at accident sites with brief memorial messages has spread all over the world. There is even a website for the loosely-organized group at www.ghostbikes.org.

The groups follow bicycle death news closely so that they can place the ghost bikes immediately after an accident when the memorial will have greater psychological impact.

The Scope of the Problem

According to the Orange County coroner, there have been 14 bicycle-related deaths in 2012 so far, 12 of which were vehicle crashes. Although the vast majority of victims are men, two women also died in bicycle crashes in a two-day period.

The Newport city council removes the memorials 30 days after they are placed, but few cities are talking about what steps should be taken to reduce the total number of bicycle deaths. Bicycle advocacy groups are hoping that more bike trails will be planned and more money will be spent to raise awareness on the part of motorists of the dangers posed to bicycle riders every day on Orange County highways.

Liability and Legal Issues in Bike Accidents

When a bicyclist is hit by a driver, the police ask several questions before charging the driver with a crime. These questions include attempts to gather information about how fast the driver was going, whether he or she was drinking at the time of the accident, and whether the bicyclist was observing the rules of the road as well.

If the bicyclist is found to have violated any of the traffic laws applying to the given situation, the driver may not be charged. However, that does not mean that he or she will not be held liable for the bicyclist’s injuries or death if the driver was negligent or careless.

Many bicycle accidents are caused by drivers who are drinking at the time of the accident or who are traveling at unsafe speeds. Assuming that a driver has broken the law, there is little doubt that the driver may have some liability in the accident regardless of the behavior of the cyclist. In California, civil juries have the option of assigning a certain percentage of liability for an accident to two or more people. This is known as comparative liability. Comparative liability means that a driver can be held liable for at least part of the damages in a bike accident even if the bicyclist was also partially at fault.

Alfonso Cerda Sr., 45, was killed in an Inglewood car accident after a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s squad car hit and killed him as he rode his bike. According to an ABC news article, the fatal accident occurred on October 8, 2012 in the 3500 block of West 107th Street. Officials say Cerda was on his bike during the early morning hours when two deputies in a patrol car tried to contact him believing that he was carrying a gun. A short pursuit ended with the squad car and the bicyclist slamming into an iron fence. Cerda’s injuries proved fatal.

Cerda’s family is questioning the details of this bicycle accident. The sheriff’s department issued a statement that Cerda brandished a gun at the deputies. But the family says he did not even own a weapon, but carried a flashlight when he rode his bike. His son, Alfonso Cerda Jr. tells ABC News that his family is trying to make sense out of this tragedy. “How do you hit someone with a 5,000-pound vehicle? How does that happen?” he asks. They also say it was common for Cerda to be out at night picking up clothes and other items from trash cans, which he would later sell. The investigation is ongoing. Read the rest »

Scott Folck, 35, who was critically injured in a car accident last week, has died from his injuries, U-T San Diego reports. Police say Folck was riding his bicycle east along Woods Valley Road in Valley Center, early morning on September 16, 2012, when a Mitsubishi 3000GT driven by a 22-year-old San Marcos man attempted a left turn and struck him. Folck’s bicycle hit the right front of the car. He was thrown to the ground and suffered multiple blunt force injuries. He died early morning on September 23 after undergoing surgery and several medical treatments. No citations or charges have been reported. The investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest sympathies to Folck’s family members and friends. He was apparently an avid cyclist who had been training for a triathlon. Please keep his loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.

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Sarah Leaf, 29, was killed in a bicycle accident in Newport Beach after a stake-bed truck hit her, the morning of September 14, 2012. According to a news report in Corona del Mar Today, the fatal traffic accident occurred at the intersection of East Coast Highway and Bayside Drive. Police say Leaf was riding her bike on East Coast Highway and was preparing to make a right onto Bayside, when the truck driver, who was traveling in the same direction, attempted a right turn, struck and ran her over. Leaf died from her injuries. No arrests or citations have been reported yet.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who knew and loved Sarah Leaf. She was apparently a certified nutritionist at a local fitness center and spa. This is indeed a tragic incident! I offer my deepest condolences to her family members and friends.

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