Riding Safely: The Importance of Bicycle Accident Insurance

If you were struck by a vehicle while bicycling, the injuries you sustained may be severe or catastrophic. As your medical bills pile up and your lost wages accumulate, understanding bicycle accident insurance can be crucial. You might be wondering whether you can file a claim against the at-fault driver, or in some cases, your own insurance company, for the losses you suffered in connection with your accident-related injuries. Under Washington law, cyclists have specific rights when it comes to seeking compensation through bicycle accident insurance claims.

Who Pays for Medical Bills After a Bicycle Accident?

Depending on the force of impact, bicycle accident injuries can be debilitating and life-changing. Even if you weren’t driving a car when the accident happened, you may still be eligible to use car insurance to cover the medical bills for the injuries you sustained. Critically, Washington is an at-fault state. This means the party who caused the accident is responsible for paying all of the victim's costs incurred as a result of their negligence.

A bicycle/car accident insurance claim can usually be covered by:

• PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage — You may use your own PIP policy or possibly the PIP policy of the at fault driver PIP policy to cover your medical payments. Your insurer will later seek to recover the costs from the at-fault party’s liability insurance. Notably, PIP coverage also extends to members of the same household related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
• Your health insurance — Your health insurance can cover any medical bills that have not been covered by a PIP policy or your own insurance. However, you would be responsible for paying any co-pays and deductibles.

What Happens if the Driver Who Struck You Has No Insurance?

In these cases, your own Uninsured/Underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage would cover the medical bills associated with your injuries, lost wages, and other damages. Although Washington State does not require you to purchase this coverage with your car insurance policy, it can be a crucial safety net.

Can You Still File a Lawsuit if Insurance Covered Your Medical Bills?

If you filed a bicycle accident insurance claim, you may still be entitled to hold the negligent driver legally accountable in a personal injury lawsuit. By filing a personal injury action, you may be able to recover your unreimbursed medical costs, the full extent of your lost wages, and out-of-pocket costs that were not compensated by insurance.

In addition, insurance does not compensate you for your pain and suffering. By pursuing a lawsuit, you may be entitled to compensation for the physical and mental pain you suffered — as well as the impact the bicycle accident had on your life and livelihood. Compensation for pain and suffering in a personal injury action can include monetary recovery for:

• Physical pain
• Mental anguish
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disfigurement
• Loss of consortium

It is essential to carefully document your injuries. Be sure to retain your medical records and keep a journal that details how your injuries affected you each day. This can serve as key evidence to establish your pain and suffering damages.

Can You Still Receive Compensation if You Are Partly at Fault for the Accident?

The at-fault driver may try to avoid liability by blaming you for the bicycle accident. They may argue that you failed to observe their vehicle or did not follow the applicable traffic laws. However, Washington State follows the comparative negligence system, which allows you to receive monetary recovery for a bicycle accident, as long as you are 99% or less to blame.

Under Washington's comparative negligence law, if you are partly to blame for the accident, you may still be eligible to recover compensation, minus your share of fault. For instance, if you were awarded $100,000 in damages and found to be 30% at fault, your compensation would be reduced by $30,000. In this case, you would be awarded $70,000.

Contact an Experienced Washington Personal Injury Attorney

If you were struck by a vehicle while bicycling, it is vital to have a personal injury attorney who can help you navigate the process of filing a bicycle accident insurance claim — and pursuing a lawsuit if necessary. The Bellingham personal injury attorneys at Robinson & Kole provide dedicated counsel to bicycle accident victims throughout Washington State and work to obtain the best possible outcome for each client.