Call Now
713-521-0059
Yes, in most cases. Being hit on a bicycle is not the cyclist’s fault by default, and riding without a helmet usually does not end the claim. What decides it is how the collision happened, and the bicycle itself is often the best evidence of that.
What cannot wait is the physical evidence. Do not repair or discard the bicycle, the helmet or the clothing, and look for camera coverage the same week. Video near the scene is often overwritten within days or weeks. Call 713-521-0059.
Insurers frequently open a bicycle file assuming the rider was where they should not have been. On a Texas road, a cyclist generally has the same right to the roadway as a driver, and none of the protection. The injuries reflect that difference.
The actual recurring causes are lane position, door zone collisions, right hook and left cross turns, and driver inattention. A right hook is a driver passing you and turning right across your path. A left cross is an oncoming driver turning left in front of you. A door zone collision is a parked driver opening a door into your lane. Each one often comes down to a driver’s failure to look.
In most cases, it does not end the claim. Texas assigns responsibility by percentage. Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, you can usually still recover so long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage.
Helmet use usually has nothing to do with how the collision happened. It is potentially relevant only to certain injuries, and it is frequently argued far beyond what the evidence supports. The question is whether a helmet would have changed a specific injury, and answering it usually takes medical evidence, not an assumption.
Damage patterns establish impact direction and speed. A bent fork, a cracked frame, scrapes on one side and marks on the helmet all tell part of the story. So do tears and marks on your clothing. A bike computer or a phone app that recorded your ride may also show your speed, your route and the moment of impact. A repair shop will fix or replace those parts, and the evidence goes with them.
Keep the bicycle as it is, in a dry place, with every broken part. If an insurer asks to inspect it, have that done with notice and in writing. Photograph it from every side before anyone touches it.
Photograph the scene, the sight lines and any obstruction. Include parked cars, overgrown hedges, signs and the lane markings. Look for camera coverage the same week: businesses, homes with doorbell cameras, buses and traffic cameras near the scene. Write down the names of anyone who stopped to help.
Keep every medical record, bill and receipt. Under Section 41.0105 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, recovery of medical expenses is limited to amounts actually paid or incurred, so the billing records and the insurance payments both matter. A short daily note of what you cannot do also helps show how the injury changed your life.
Your own automobile policy may still help. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can apply to you while riding a bicycle, depending on the policy language. A household member’s policy may also apply, depending on the policy. Our page on uninsured and underinsured motorist claims explains how that coverage usually works.
Some bicycle crashes involve delivery vans, work trucks and rideshare drivers. When a driver was on the job, the employer or the company behind the app may carry its own insurance, and those policies can be larger than a personal auto policy. Whether that coverage applies depends on the policy, and often on what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash, such as carrying a passenger, heading to a pickup or simply logged in. Our pages on delivery driver crashes and rideshare accidents cover those questions in more detail.
In most cases, Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires suit within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. Other deadlines can be shorter. Ask about your specific deadlines early.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Most of this is physical, and physical evidence gets repaired, thrown away or recorded over. The first job is to keep it. The second is to find the footage before it is gone.
We start by keeping the bicycle, the helmet and the clothing safe, and by asking nearby businesses and agencies in writing to keep their video. Then we identify every insurance policy that may apply, including your own uninsured motorist coverage, and we answer the helmet argument with the medical evidence.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
In most cases, yes. Helmet use usually has nothing to do with how the collision happened. It is potentially relevant only to certain injuries, and it is frequently argued far beyond what the evidence supports.
Usually, so long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible. Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, your recovery is reduced by your percentage.
Not yet. Damage patterns establish impact direction and speed. Keep the bicycle, the helmet and the clothing as they are until they have been photographed and inspected.
Video, sight lines, the damage pattern and witness accounts. Look for camera coverage the same week, because much of it is overwritten quickly.
Under Section 41.0105 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, recovery of medical expenses is limited to amounts actually paid or incurred. Keep every bill and every record of what insurance paid.
In most cases, two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury, under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Other deadlines can be shorter, so ask about your dates early.