Bicycle Accident Lawyers in Pennsylvania: Riders Are Not Bound by Limited Tort

Two rules that favor you

Limited tort does not bind you. The restriction attaches to occupants of private passenger vehicles. A person injured while cycling is normally free to claim pain and suffering without clearing the serious impairment threshold.

Your own policy probably responds. Medical benefits coverage follows the insured person, so a household auto policy commonly pays treatment. Underinsured motorist coverage on that policy is frequently the largest available source when the driver carries minimum limits.

Bring every declarations page in the household.

Cyclists have the rights and duties of a vehicle

Pennsylvania treats a bicycle as a vehicle on the roadway with corresponding rights. Riders are entitled to use the travel lane where conditions require it, and the fact that a rider was not in a bike lane or was taking the lane is not itself negligence.

Expect the driver’s insurer to suggest otherwise, along with the usual points about clothing, lights and helmet use.

Helmets

Pennsylvania requires helmets for riders under a specified age but not for adults. An adult riding without one was doing something lawful, and its absence goes at most to head injury damages rather than to fault. It does not touch the broken collarbone.

The recurring fact patterns

• The right hook. A driver overtakes then turns right across the rider.
• The left cross. An oncoming driver turns left across the rider’s path.
• Dooring. A parked occupant opens a door into the lane, which is itself a violation.
• Unsafe passing, where Pennsylvania requires a minimum passing distance.

“I did not see them” is the near universal driver account and it is usually an admission rather than a defense.

Preserve the bicycle

Do not repair or discard it. The damage pattern establishes impact direction and speed, and a helmet with a visible impact is evidence of the force involved. Photograph everything, including your clothing.