Road Defects Can Seriously Injure Bicyclists
While riding a bicycle on the streets, you not only have to watch our for drivers, you also have to watch out for road defects. In 2017, there were 6,675 bicycle crashes in Florida. Of those, 128 were fatal.
If a road defect causes you to wreck your bicycle, there’s also a chance that an oncoming vehicle may not see you and collide with you. Counties, towns, and the state have budgeted funds meant to keep roadways in good repair. If the roads are not in good repair, the entity that has jurisdiction over the road could be held liable for your injuries or the death of a loved one.
Common Road Defects
When you think of road defects, you might be thinking about potholes or large cracks in the surface of the road. Those are certainly common, but they’re not the only types of road defects that can ruin a bike ride. Other road defect issues include:
- Improper signs and signs facing the wrong direction;
- Inadequate lighting;
- Missing lights and/or signs;
- Uneven pavement;
- Potholes and large cracks in the road;
- Missing, soft, narrow or otherwise dangerous shoulders;
- Missing or broken guardrails and barriers;
- Overgrown vegetation; and
- Debris, including branches, gravel, and rocks in the road.
Any of these defects could cause you to crash. You could injure yourself or even others. If someone in a vehicle sees you wreck, that person could swerve to miss you and get in a wreck with another vehicle. Even if one of these conditions causes you to run into a vehicle and that vehicle stops just before you hit it, you could suffer severe injuries.
Bicycle Injuries
Because the rider has very little protection while riding a bicycle, injuries are often traumatic and could be fatal. While helmets and elbow and knee pads provide protection, they can only provide so much.
Cause of Bicycle Injuries on Defective Roads
The number one cause of a bicycle injury on a defective road is losing control of the bicycle. A pothole, soft shoulder, poor lighting or even a crack in the road could cause a rider to lose control. Additional causes include:
- Motorist errors such as missing signs or signals or a pothole that causes a motorist to lose control and hit a bicyclist;
- Speed when a bicyclist has the right of way and cannot stop in time to avoid debris in the road, a pothole or a motorist running a stop sign or light; and
- Environmental hazards such as loose gravel.
Types of Injuries
Common injuries in bicycle crashes include road rash (abrasions), lacerations and strains. While these are not serious in most cases, they could become very serious should an infection set in or if the road rash is deep enough to require skin grafts. All injuries should be checked out immediately, even minor ones. If you feel as though you haven’t been injured, you should still have your doctor check you out as injuries could show up a day or more after the accident.
Sometimes, bicycle accidents leave cyclists badly injured. Traumatic injuries from cycling accidents can include:
- Skull fractures;
- Concussions;
- Intracranial hemorrhage;
- Brain contusions;
- Facial fractures;
- Corneal foreign bodies;
- Contusions to the face and eyes;
- Dental fractures;
- Dislocations;
- Strains;
- Fractures to the arms, legs and other parts of the body;
- Parenchymal lung injuries;
- Rib fractures;
- Traumatic hernias;
- Large or small bowel contusions;
- Renal contusions;
- Ruptures in the abdomen;
- Splenic ruptures;
- Pancreatic trauma;
- Hepatic lacerations;
- Vascular perforations;
- Urethral and vulval trauma;
- Pelvic fractures; and
- Rectal trauma.
Some of these may take months to recover from. Others can cause permanent disability. Even if you are in the hospital for some time after a bicycle accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Most Dangerous Intersections
If you ride your bike in Hillsborough County or Pinellas County, you probably know where the most dangerous intersections are. Even if you don’t, when you find out where they are, they probably won’t surprise you. Crash data is from 2011 through 2018.
- SR 52 and Little Road in Pinellas County saw 14 crashes.
- North Nebraska and Fowler in Hillsborough County saw 15 crashes.
- W. Hillsborough and N. Lois in Hillsborough County saw 13 crashes.
- Skinner and Douglas in Pinellas County saw 16 crashes.
- Seminole and West Bay in Pinellas County saw 19 crashes.
- 49th Street North and Ulmerton in Pinellas County as 13 crashes.
- 49th Street North and Park Boulevard North in Pinellas County saw 17 crashes.
- 34th Street North and 62nd Avenue North in Pinellas County saw 13 crashes.
- 66th Street North and 54th Avenue North in Pinellas County saw 18 crashes.
- 34th Street North and 5th Avenue North in Pinellas County saw 16 crashes.
- 34th Street North and 1st Avenue North in Pinellas County as 16 crashes.
As of April 28, 2019, Hillsborough County saw a total of 170 bicycle crashes. Of those, four were fatal. For the same time period, Pinellas County saw 153 bicycle crashes, and of those, three were fatal.
Bicycle Crash Injury Lawyer
If you have been injured in a bicycle crash or you lost a loved one in a bicycle crash because of a road defect, contact The Florida Law Group. Our attorneys have the experience and know-how to ensure victims of bicycle accidents receive the compensation they deserve.
Compensation because of a bicycle crash or because of the death of a loved one caused by road defects could include damages including loss of consortium, loss of work, medical bills for the accident and future medical bills for occupational and physical therapy, lost wages, emotional suffering and more. The best way to find out if you are eligible for compensation after a bicycle accident is to consult with an experienced bicycle accident attorney right away.
Contact The Florida Law Group
Contact The Florida Law Group at (813) 463-8880 if you have been injured in a bicycle accident caused by road defects or if you have lost a loved one in a bicycle accident caused by road defects. Meeting with our team is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
