In 2022, a bicycle rider in Pennsylvania suffered a disabling brain injury after getting struck by a truck belonging to a local plumbing business. After a three-year legal battle, the court ruled in favor of the former and awarded him USD$29 million in damages. The amount is despite the fact that the cyclist was found to be 15% responsible for the mishap. (1)

There are at least a dozen takeaways from this, one of which is that no business is immune to bicycle injury claims. Given a bicycle’s lack of protection from crashes, resulting severe injuries to the victim can be financially crippling to businesses. Naturally, the cost is much higher when the bike accident leads to wrongful death.

Companies usually mitigate such a risk by taking out certain kinds of business insurance. That said, startups and small businesses rarely have the capital to pay for comprehensive coverage. All the while, this fact doesn’t make them any less liable in a road mishap.

The Cost of Bicycle Accidents

The National Safety Council (NSC) recorded 1,377 preventable bicycle-related deaths in 2023, a 1% increase from 2022 but a 53% increase from the last decade. Of these, two-thirds involved motor vehicles. On a brighter note, the number of nonfatal injuries for the same year dropped by 29% to over 340,000 cases from the last decade. (2)

Regardless of fatalities, business owners should be under no illusion about the real cost of such accidents. Many wrongly assume that paying for the injured person’s hospital bills is enough, but the NSC states that there are other expenses, such as: (3)

• Administrative costs: Police and legal fees, insurance-related costs (if any)


• Motor vehicle damage: Cost of repair to the vehicle following the accident


• Uninsured costs: Compensating for the mishap’s effects on business operations


• Productivity losses: Covering the victim’s loss of income due to their injury

Therefore, it isn’t unusual for total damages to reach millions. Factors like the severity of the injury and its long-term effects on the victim’s well-being (especially if it hinders them from performing work) contribute to the final figure.

For this reason, law firms like Willens & Baez Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C. urge victims to maximize the fair compensation they’re entitled to. Even after medical treatment, a victim’s life after the accident involves struggling with long-term physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and adverse effects on their quality of life-factors that significantly influence bicycle injury claims.

Where the Accident Occurred Matters?

Another factor contributing to the cost of bicycle injury claims is the state where the accident occurred. In the case at the beginning, the mishap happened in Pennsylvania. Its legal system adopts comparative negligence (a modified one, but more on that later) for its personal injury law.

In the U.S., determining fault in an accident—and, by extension, calculating damages—is left to the states. They adopt either comparative or contributory negligence. (4)

Comparative Negligence Damages are calculated based on how much of the plaintiff and defendant are at fault for causing the accident. A victim who was found to be 10% liable for the mishap would be awarded 10% less damages than if they were fully innocent.Some states adopt a modified comparative negligence model. In this system, the court can refuse to award the plaintiff if they’re found to be 50 or 51% liable.

Contributory Negligence This system is much stricter, in which the court can deny the accident victim from recovering damages if they’re found to be at fault, regardless of how much they contributed. Even a 1% fault on their part is enough to disqualify them.

Contributory negligence applies to the states of Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The rest adopt comparative negligence.

Understanding bicycle injury claims can be beneficial to business owners. Given this, avoiding paying for costly damages is easier in contributory negligence states. They also have a good chance in the 30 states implementing modified comparative negligence. (4)

On that note, businesses should do everything in their power to minimize their liability. Courts weigh aggravating and mitigating factors in determining how much each party is at fault. More of the former increases the business’s liability, whereas more of the latter lowers it. Below are several examples:

Aggravating Factors	Mitigating Factors
Fleeing the accident scene	Stopping and calling for help
Evidence of intentional harm	Driver error made under emotional distress
Driving under the influence (DUI)	Cooperation with police officers
Record of previous traffic violations	First-time offense for the driver
Inadequate vehicle maintenance	Regular vehicle maintenance

In Conclusion

Startups are as vulnerable to bicycle injury claims as any other business. Without proper safeguards, a verdict in the bicycle accident victim’s favor can inflict serious financial losses, if not to the point of bankruptcy. Duty of care—ensuring the safety and well-being of the public as a whole—extends to business owners.

References

1. “Barreto Z. $29 Million Verdict in Cyclist Injury Case”,

2. “Bicycle Deaths”

3. “Guide to Calculating Costs – Data Details“

4. “Comparative & Contributory Negligence Laws: 50-State Survey“