Florida bicycle claims

Can You Sue Someone for Hitting You on a Bike?

By Miller & Jacobs Bicycle Accident Attorneys

Yes. If a driver's careless act caused your bicycle crash and injuries, you may have a Florida claim. You must show how the driver caused your harm. The facts, insurance and kind of loss you claim affect what you can recover.

Seek needed care first. Save the driver's details and the crash records. Check your claim and deadlines before agreeing to a final payment.

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A civil claim starts with what the driver did

A negligence claim asks whether the driver failed to use reasonable care and caused your harm. Florida's civil jury instructions explain care and cause. Work through these three questions.

An Orlando bicycle accident lawyer can review the crash records, coverage and deadlines with you.

What did the driver do?

Describe the turn, pass, lane change or other act you saw. Explain the facts behind a claim that the driver was distracted. Separate what you saw from what others told you.

How did it cause the crash?

Show the sequence between the driver's act, your response and the impact or fall. Footage from before the crash may matter as much as the moment you hit the ground.

What harm followed?

Connect the crash to your treatment, missed work and damaged property. Records should show both the loss and why it relates to this incident.

Breaking a traffic rule may help show fault. It does not prove the whole claim. The other facts and the link to your injury still matter.

Which insurance may help after a bicycle crash?

Check each source of coverage on its own. Insurance that helps with early bills is different from insurance covering a driver's legal responsibility.

Personal injury protection

Personal injury protection, or PIP, may cover a cyclist struck by a motor vehicle. Under section 627.736, it may come from your policy, a qualifying household relative's or the striking vehicle's. Which policy applies depends on who owns a vehicle, who lives in your home and whether you are a Florida resident.

For PIP medical benefits, you generally must get qualifying initial care within 14 days. The amount payable also depends on medical findings, coverage limits and other statutory requirements. Do not assume that timely care alone makes the full medical limit available. PIP does not pay for pain and suffering.

The driver's liability coverage

A driver's bodily injury liability policy may pay a claim it covers. An insurance card alone does not prove that this coverage exists or will meet your losses. Check the policy, the vehicle owner and any business coverage if the driver was working.

Your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage

If the driver has no injury coverage or too little to pay your losses, check your UM coverage. UM means uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. It may cover you while cycling if you qualify under the policy. Section 627.727 sets the rules. You can reject UM in writing. Check your policy's terms and limits.

Our Orlando bicycle accident lawyers can review the crash records and possible coverage after an Orlando collision.

A no-contact fall needs special attention. You may have a negligence claim if the driver caused the fall, but PIP’s physical-contact rules require a separate review. Do not assume that proving driver fault establishes PIP coverage.

What can your claim include?

Supported losses can include care bills, lost pay, a reduced ability to earn and damaged property. Use the care plan, work limits, pay records and repair quotes to show each loss. For future care or pay, explain what is expected and why. An injury's name alone does not prove its cost.

In a claim against the driver of a car with the required no-fault security, Section 627.737(2) generally sets an added injury test for pain and suffering. The fact that you were cycling does not, on its own, remove that test. It lists these qualifying conditions:

Loss of function: A significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.

Permanent injury: An injury permanent within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.

Scarring or disfigurement: Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.

Death.

That test does not bar every claim for bills or lost pay. Its application depends on the vehicle, required security and claim. Section 627.727(7) generally applies the same test to UM pain-and-suffering claims, although a policy may provide broader coverage.

You cannot collect again from the driver for losses PIP paid or must pay under

section 627.736(3).

Other payments may also affect recovery. Separate your total losses from what each policy or claim may pay.

Save a record of the ride and the crash

After needed care, save the original bicycle-camera or dashcam files and a backup, including the moments before and after the fall. Note the route, direction of travel, signals, lane markings and witness contacts. Photograph the bicycle and gear before repair or disposal.

Note nearby cameras and ask about saving footage. Keep the report number, care records, bills, work notes and insurer letters together. Our crash evidence guide explains what different records may show.

Under section 316.083, a driver passing a bicycle in the same travel lane or an ordinary bicycle lane must leave a safe gap of at least three feet. The three-foot provisions exclude physically separated bicycle lanes. Our three-foot passing guide explains proof after a close pass, including a fall without contact.

What if the driver blames your riding?

Florida's current comparative-fault rule bars damages in a covered negligence suit if you are more than 50% at fault for your own harm. Exactly 50% does not trigger the bar, but it cuts damages in half. A smaller fault share reduces the award by that share. The 2023 change generally covers suits filed after March 24, 2023; older filed cases need their own review. This rule does not decide whether PIP covers you.

Your road position needs context. Section 316.2065 gives cyclists road rights and duties. If you ride below normal traffic speed, you generally must use the bike lane. If there is none, ride as close as practicable to the right edge. Exceptions include passing, preparing for a left turn and avoiding hazards or a lane too narrow to share safely. A photo away from the curb does not tell the whole story.

On a sidewalk or crosswalk, a cyclist has pedestrian rights and duties and must yield to pedestrians. The statute requires bicycle helmets for riders under 16. Not wearing a bicycle helmet cannot be used as evidence of negligence or contributory negligence. This does not decide other riding conduct or what caused an injury.

Check the lawsuit deadline and insurance rules separately

A Florida negligence claim for crash injuries generally has a two-year filing period under section 95.11(5)(a). The 2023 transition law applies that shorter period to claims that legally arose after March 24, 2023. For an ordinary crash injury claim, that is usually the crash date. Older claims and exceptions need a separate date check.

Other claim types and insurance policies can have different notice and filing requirements. Have the actual claim and dates reviewed. PIP’s 14-day care condition is not the negligence suit deadline. Do not assume that an open claim or settlement talks stop the filing clock.

Read the release before accepting a final payment

A claim may settle without a lawsuit. Before signing, check which people, policies and claims the release covers. A payment described as bicycle repairs does not, by itself, tell you whether the paperwork also gives up an injury claim.

If settling with the driver's insurer would leave an underinsured motorist claim, section 627.727(6) requires written notice to the insurers that provide that coverage. Follow that process before completing the settlement. Have the release and coverage reviewed together. The first offer does not prove all of your losses.

A green bicycle and black helmet on a road, with a vehicle and standing cyclist behind them.

If a close pass stays with you, an ordinary ride can keep replaying long after you have put the bike away.

Mark J. Miller, partner at Miller & Jacobs

Mark J. Miller, Partner, Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Rick S. Jacobs, partner at Miller & Jacobs

Rick S. Jacobs, Partner, Pompano Beach Bicycle Accident Lawyer

MAKE SENSE OF THE CRASH AND THE COVERAGE

Speak With Our Bicycle Accident Lawyers

Bring the driver's details, photos, report number, care records and insurer letters. Miller & Jacobs can review fault, coverage and deadlines with you. You can ask about timing even if some records are still missing.

For a local crash, speak with our Pompano Beach bicycle accident lawyers. Our Orlando personal injury lawyers can discuss other injury matters in that area.

Call 954-465-8733 Schedule a Free Consultation

Questions about your bicycle claim

Can I make a claim if the car never touched me?

A negligence claim may be possible if the driver’s conduct caused your fall and injuries. Insurance coverage has separate rules. PIP coverage after a no-contact fall needs a review of the facts, policy and applicable law.

Does the driver need to get a ticket for me to have a claim?

A civil negligence claim turns on the evidence of careless conduct, cause and harm. A decision not to issue a ticket does not decide those questions. A ticket alone does not prove the whole claim either.

What if the driver has no injury coverage?

Check any UM coverage under which you may qualify and whether another party is legally responsible. A right to seek damages does not mean funds are available. Check whether a policy or other funds can pay a proven claim.

Can I accept a repair payment and keep my injury claim?

It depends on the agreement. The payment's label does not establish which claims a release gives up. Have the full paperwork reviewed before signing, especially if treatment or a UM claim is still open.