Bicycle crashes rarely feel like accidents. They feel like an ambush of noise, metal, and adrenaline, followed by the odd silence that accompanies shock. In that moment, good decisions are hard to make. Over years of handling bike cases, I’ve watched small choices at the scene ripple into big outcomes months later. The steps below reflect what a seasoned bicycle accident attorney urges clients to do, not because a checklist sounds tidy, but because each action preserves health, evidence, and options when the road back gets long.
First priorities in the seconds and minutes after impact
Hitting the deck is disorienting. Even when you pop up quickly, your body may not be giving you an honest report. Concussions hide behind adrenaline, and fractures can masquerade as deep bruises.
Your first job is to stop moving traffic from turning a bad situation worse. If you can, stay where you are and signal for help instead of scrambling to the curb. On busy corridors, fellow riders often form a protective arc. Accept their help. If the collision involves a car, ask the driver to put hazard lights on and set out a reflective triangle if they have one. Moving yourself or your bike should be a last resort and only if staying put is unsafe.
If you carry a phone mount, hit a voice assistant and say “call 911.” Speak plainly. “I’m a cyclist, I was hit by a vehicle at [location]. I need police and an ambulance.” If breathing feels tight, if your head struck anything, or if your neck or back hurts, stay still until medics arrive. It’s tempting to wave off EMS. I’ve had more than one client insist they were fine, only to learn hours later that the headache wasn’t stress, it was a brain bleed. Err on the side of getting checked.
Preserve the scene even if you think you’re okay
Evidence evaporates fast. Turned wheels get straightened, drivers pull into driveways, and the witness who saw everything has a bus to catch. You do not have to build a case at the curb, but you should capture reality before it morphs.
Photographs do the heavy lifting. If you’re steady enough, take wide shots of the entire scene from multiple angles, then medium frames of the vehicles, then close-ups of damage, debris fields, skid marks, gouges, and the resting positions on the roadway. Include traffic signals, stop signs, bike lane markings, and construction zones. If your light or camera was recording, lock the file immediately to prevent overwriting. If you wear a head cam, power it down after saving the clip so it doesn’t loop.
Collect identities without debating fault. Ask the driver for a photo of their license and insurance card. Capture the license plate of every involved vehicle. For commercial vehicles, get the company name and USDOT number from the door. If the driver is a rideshare contractor, snap the placard and the app screen if they show it. Witness information matters even more than you think. If someone calls out, “I saw the whole thing,” ask for their name, phone, and a short voice memo stating what they observed. Many witnesses leave before police arrive.
Do not apologize or speculate. Simple phrases are enough: “Are you okay?” and “Let’s wait for the police.” I’ve watched a single offhand apology become Exhibit A in a dispute over liability, even when video later showed the driver drifting into the bike lane.
Insist on a police report, and make sure it captures the essentials
Some officers will suggest swapping information and moving along. That shortcut can cost you later, especially with soft-tissue injuries that declare themselves hours after the crash. Ask for a report number. When the officer takes your statement, stick to what you know: where you were, your direction of travel, the signal phase you observed, and what the driver did. If you had the green or a walk signal, say so. If a car made an improper lane change, failed to yield, or opened a door into you, use those words.
If your injuries prevent you from giving a thorough statement on scene, you can supplement later. In many departments, you can submit an addendum within a few days. The narrative matters. Insurance adjusters and juries rely on these reports more than they should.
When a hit and run happens, insist on noting it as such. The difference between a “no contact” event and a hit and run affects coverage. Some states allow uninsured motorist claims even if there was no physical contact, provided an independent witness corroborates. A hit and run accident attorney will look for nearby security cameras, transit buses with forward-facing video, and license plate readers. That search is more productive the sooner it begins.
Get medical care now, not later
Ambulance rides feel dramatic. Hospital waiting rooms feel like a time sink. Still, prompt evaluation creates a medical record that links your injuries to the crash, and it often catches problems that would have worsened quietly.
For head impacts, ask for concussion screening. A normal CT does not rule out a mild traumatic brain injury. Watch for cognitive fog, mood swings, light sensitivity, and sleep disruptions in the days that follow. Cyclists frequently downplay these symptoms. A recorded baseline from the ER or urgent care helps your treating providers chart progress and, if needed, supports your claim.
Orthopedic injuries hide too. A scaphoid fracture in the wrist may barely hurt at first and then disrupt months of daily use. Road rash is not “just a scrape” when it covers a large area or includes embedded debris that invites infection. Take photos of injuries at day 1, day 3, and day 10, then at regular intervals. Judges and adjusters are more persuaded by a healing arc than by a single gory photo.
Keep every receipt: co-pays, compression garments, bandages, physical therapy bands, Uber rides to appointments. If you later retain a personal injury attorney, this paper trail speeds reimbursement.
Protect your bike and gear as evidence, not just property
Your bike tells a story. Bent dropouts, a creased rim, or a handlebar rotated out of plane can show direction of impact and force. Do not rush to repair or discard. Store the bike in a safe, dry place. Photograph serial numbers and component damage. Bag and label broken mounts, a snapped cleat, a cracked helmet, and torn clothing. A helmet with visible damage often correlates with concussion symptoms, and manufacturers sometimes inspect helmets and issue reports that help in settlement negotiations.
When an insurer asks for an estimate, choose a reputable shop with experience documenting crash damage. Ask them to note hairline cracks in carbon, chipped lacquer that suggests delamination, and required replacement of one-sided components like pedals and bars. Carbon inspection can run a few hundred dollars. In bigger cases, a bicycle accident attorney may retain an expert to evaluate and write a report about the bike’s condition and required repairs or total loss value.
Tell your insurer promptly, and say less to the other side
Your own auto policy may cover you as a cyclist, even if no car of yours was involved. MedPay or PIP can help with medical bills. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can step in when a driver flees or carries a minimal policy. Notify your insurer quickly, but avoid recorded statements about fault while you’re still foggy. Provide basics: date, time, location, vehicles involved, and injuries known so far.
The other driver’s insurer will likely call early. Their adjuster will sound friendly and efficient. Remember their job is to limit payouts. You can say you’re receiving treatment and will provide documentation later. Decline recorded statements until you’ve spoken with counsel. A car accident lawyer or auto accident attorney will manage these communications so your words don’t get twisted.
Keep a recovery log that captures the real impact
Juries and adjusters understand X-rays. They struggle to understand pain and disruption. A short daily note bridges that gap. Write or voice-record for two minutes: sleep quality, pain levels, tasks you skipped, mood, and milestones. If your job requires standing, lifting, or fine motor work, track modifications and missed shifts. Parents often shoulder extra costs for childcare or driving duties. Those details translate to damages under the law, but only if you can show them.
For athletes, note training volume before and after the crash. If you were averaging 100 miles a week and can barely manage five, that delta matters. If you planned a race and lost the entry fee, record it. In severe cases, a catastrophic injury lawyer will organize expert reports around these daily notes to explain life care needs and lost earning capacity.
Understand how fault gets assigned on bikes
Liability in bike cases is rarely as simple as “car hits bike, car is at fault.” Fault can be shared. Many states follow comparative negligence rules. If you were 10 percent at fault, your recovery may be reduced by that percentage. In a few places that still cling to contributory negligence, even 1 percent fault can bar recovery entirely. An experienced personal injury lawyer evaluates these nuances early, because they influence strategy and settlement expectations.
Common driver errors include improper lane changes into bike lanes, right hooks at intersections, failure to yield when turning left, opening doors into cyclists, and rear-end collisions at stop lights. When a truck is involved, wide turns can sweep across bike lanes without mirrors catching a cyclist in the blind spot. A truck accident lawyer or 18-wheeler accident lawyer understands federal regulations on driver hours, maintenance logs, and camera systems that can corroborate your account.
Cyclist conduct is scrutinized too. Riding without lights at night, rolling a stop, or hugging parked cars too closely can become focal points. None of this excuses a driver who failed to yield or drifted across a solid line, but it becomes part of the negotiation. A bicycle accident attorney will frame these facts in context, such as poor road design that encouraged unsafe interactions, or a driver’s speed and distraction overshadowing a minor rider mistake.
Special scenarios that call for tailored moves
Crashes come in flavors, each with its own pitfalls. A few deserve special attention because the steps diverge.
Rideshare vehicles. When an Uber or Lyft driver hits a cyclist, coverage depends on the driver’s app status. Off-app, the driver’s personal policy applies. App on but no rider, there is usually a higher contingent policy. En route to pick up or carrying a passenger, the highest coverage tier often triggers. A rideshare accident lawyer will demand the driver’s trip logs from the platform, which detail timestamps that can flip the coverage switch.
Commercial delivery vans. The explosion of last-mile deliveries put more tall, heavy vehicles on residential streets. These vans often have dash cams and route data. A delivery truck accident lawyer moves quickly to preserve that electronic evidence and to identify the corporate entity on the hook, which may be a contractor rather than the brand on the side panel.
Buses. Municipal and private buses have strict notice requirements for claims that can be as short as 30 to 90 days. Miss the window and the claim can die. A bus accident lawyer will file a notice of claim while the medical picture continues to develop, preserving your option to sue.
Drunk or distracted drivers. Punitive damages may be in play. A drunk driving accident lawyer or distracted driving accident attorney will pull bar receipts, phone local best car accident lawyers records, and sometimes social media activity to show reckless conduct. These cases can settle differently because carriers fear jury anger.
Head-on, rear-end, and lane-change collisions. A head-on collision lawyer will search for centerline encroachment on winding roads and fatigued driving. A rear-end collision attorney focuses on speed, following distance, and whether a driver failed to observe a stopped cyclist at a crosswalk or intersection. An improper lane change accident attorney leans on lane markings and mirror blind spots, especially where cyclists were in designated lanes.
Hit and run. If the driver flees, act as if a plate will be found. Ask nearby businesses to preserve camera footage. Many systems overwrite in 24 to 72 hours. Your attorney can send preservation letters the same day. In parallel, your uninsured motorist coverage may provide a path to recovery. A hit and run accident attorney will often hire an investigator to canvas for video, talk to residents, and retrieve traffic cam clips before they disappear.
Motorcycles and pedestrians. While not bicycles, these cases share dynamics. A motorcycle accident lawyer or pedestrian accident attorney understands the biases riders and walkers face. Judges and juries sometimes expect them to be perfect, which is neither fair nor the law. Drawing parallels can help a bicycle case, particularly in arguing safe speeds and right-of-way interpretations.
When to bring in a lawyer, and how one actually helps
People call me at three different moments. Right away, when the scene is still warm. A week later, when pain intensifies and insurers start calling. Or months down the road, when bills stack up and a lowball offer lands. Earlier is usually better, for a few concrete reasons.
- Evidence preservation. Counsel can send letters that require businesses and agencies to retain video, telematics, and 911 recordings. Without that nudge, data vanishes. Managing insurers. A personal injury attorney will route communications through the firm, take the heat off you, and control the narrative while the facts are gathered. Valuing the claim. Good lawyers do not treat a broken clavicle as “worth X.” They look at the fracture pattern, surgical hardware, complications, and your job demands to arrive at a range that reflects your life, not a spreadsheet average. Coordinating benefits. Health insurance, MedPay, PIP, and workers’ comp can overlap. An attorney prevents double-billing and negotiates liens so you do not give back more than you must when the case resolves. Litigation leverage. Even when cases settle, the credible threat of trial changes how adjusters see risk. A car crash attorney who has tried cases and can talk about verdicts in your venue carries more weight than someone who only settles.
If you’ve suffered life-changing harm, such as a spinal cord injury or severe TBI, you need a catastrophic injury lawyer who can assemble a team: life care planners, vocational experts, and economists who can predict decades of needs and lost earning potential. That level of case building is more architecture than negotiation.
Timelines and traps that catch many riders off guard
Statutes of limitation vary by state and by defendant. Against a private driver, you might have two to three years. Against a city or transit agency, you may need to file a formal notice within weeks. Do not guess. A quick consult can lock down your deadlines.
Social media is the second trap. Adjusters and defense lawyers look. A smiling photo at a friend’s barbecue becomes Exhibit A that you are fine, even if you grimaced through the evening and paid for it the next day. Tighten privacy settings, but remember screenshots leak. When in doubt, go quiet online during your recovery.
Medical gaps are the third. If you stop treatment for months and then pick up again right before a settlement demand, expect pushback. The argument will be that you recovered and then something else happened. If life or cost interferes with appointments, tell your providers. They can document why, refer to home exercises, or propose budget-friendly options that keep the record coherent.
How fault, damages, and coverage intersect in the real world
Imagine a downtown right hook. You’re in a protected bike lane with a green straight arrow. A driver turns right across the lane without signaling and clips your front wheel. You break a wrist and miss three weeks of work as a sous-chef. The police report cites the driver for failure to yield. Their insurer admits liability but contests lost wages, arguing you could have done prep work seated. Your medical bills total 18,400 dollars, lost wages 3,600, bike damages 2,200, and other out-of-pocket costs 450. Pain and suffering is the largest, vaguest component.
If you negotiate alone, you might see an opening offer that covers bills and bike, and adds a small amount for inconvenience. With documentation, a recovery journal, and a letter from your employer about the tasks you could not perform, the value climbs. Add in persistent numbness in your fingers that affects knife work, and future lost earning capacity needs to be addressed. A personal injury lawyer frames the claim with a curve, not a point: here’s the minimum hard cost, here’s the likely recovery for cases with similar medical trajectories in this venue, and here are the aggravating facts that push the number up.
Coverage limits cap the outcome. If the driver carries a 25,000 dollar policy and no assets, even a perfect case may hit a ceiling. This is where your own underinsured motorist coverage, if you purchased it on your auto policy, can bridge the gap. A bicycle accident attorney coordinates the tender of the at-fault policy and the subsequent UM claim, observing consent-to-settle clauses that, if ignored, can void your UM coverage.
What to do in the days after the crash
The first week sets the tone. Schedule a follow-up with your primary care physician or a specialist, even if you left the ER with instructions. Start physical therapy early if recommended. Send a brief, factual email to your employer explaining restrictions and expected time away. Contact your local bike shop about a crash inspection and ask them to preserve the parts.
If the roadway design contributed, such as a bike lane that ends abruptly into a turn pocket, take additional photos during similar traffic conditions. Some cities have dangerous corridors that repeat the same crash pattern. Data from Vision Zero programs and city GIS layers can support a claim against a negligent driver by showing the predictability of the hazard, and in rare cases can support a separate claim against a public entity, subject to strict timelines and immunities.
If you retained counsel, funnel every new piece of information through the firm. When medical providers ask you to sign assignment forms or lien agreements with finance companies, pause and ask your attorney to review. Medical funding can help where insurance falls short, but the interest terms can erode your eventual recovery.
Lessons from cases that went right, and those that didn’t
I handled a case where a rider was struck by a delivery van turning across a buffered lane. He called from the curb, sent scene photos within minutes, and went by ambulance for evaluation. The shop documented a hairline crack in his down tube that wasn’t obvious to the eye. We pulled van telematics that showed a hard-braking event at the time of the crash, and traffic camera footage captured the improper turn. Liability resolved quickly. Because he journaled daily, we documented weeks of sleep disruption and a gradual return to training. The insurer paid policy limits, and his UM coverage made up the rest.
Contrast that with a hit and run where the cyclist went home without calling the police, tossed the cracked helmet, and posted a now-deleted story on social media joking about “brushing it off.” The neighbor’s camera overwrote after 48 hours. He delayed treatment, then struggled with worsening neck pain. We still resolved the case through his uninsured motorist coverage, but the path was steeper, the value lower, and the stress higher than it needed to be.
The difference wasn’t luck. It was process under stress. You cannot control the driver. You can control the next five to ten decisions.
A compact field guide you can remember under stress
- Call 911, ask for police and EMS, and stay safe and still if you’re hurt. Photograph everything: scene, vehicles, signage, your bike and gear, and injuries. Exchange information and gather witness contacts, without arguing fault. Ask for a police report number and give a clear, factual statement. Seek prompt medical care and keep a daily recovery log with photos and expenses.
Write these on a card in your saddle bag. Most riders never need them. The ones who do rarely regret the redundancy.
Final thoughts from the saddle and the courtroom
Cyclists carry a lot of caution in their bodies. You anticipate door zones, scan mirrors, and feel the physics of every intersection. After a crash, that same attentiveness can serve you again, this time off the bike. Prioritize your health, protect the record, and avoid the instinct to minimize what happened because you want the ride to continue. The law can feel abstract until you need it to be concrete. A measured, methodical approach immediately after a bike crash is how you turn chaos into a path forward, whether that path ends with a quiet settlement or, if needed, a jury that understands exactly what you lost and why it matters.