Denver Bike Accident Attorneys

A: Yes. There are physicists, engineers, and other specialists who dedicate their life’s work to recreating bicycle accident cases, designing bicycles, and determining whether or not a bicycle was improperly manufactured, maintained, or repaired. These experts may testify in a trial to the design aspects that could have caused the accident or other safety features of the bicycle.

A: In Colorado, a person who has sustained personal injuries in a bicycle accident has three years from the accident to file a lawsuit. Col. Rev. Stat. 13-80-101(n).  If the person is a minor (under 18 years of age) they have three years after they turn 18 to file a lawsuit.[6]  If the lawsuit is being filed against the city or any of their employees it must be filed within two years of the date of the accident. Col. Rev. Stat. 13-80-102(1)(h).

A: The type of damages depends on the nature and extent of your injuries.  If you have a minor injury you may receive damages that cover your medical expenses or property damage.

However, if you have a major injury your damages may include everything from medical expenses,[7] lost wages,[8] pain and suffering,[9] and in some cases, punitive damages.[10]

It is best to consult a personal injury attorney so that they may be able to guide you through your unique situation and obtain the correct amount of damages so that will be able to move on with your life.

A: In Colorado, bicycles have the same rights and duties as drivers of any other motor vehicle.[11]  This includes abiding by traffic laws, such as stopping at stop signs, yielding to pedestrians and having a heightened duty of care when pedestrians are in a crosswalk.

A: Colorado Revised Statute § 42-4-1003 states:

“(1) The following rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction:

(b) The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicyclist proceeding in the same direction shall allow the bicyclist at least a three-foot separation between the right side of the driver’s vehicle, including all mirrors or other projections, and the left side of the bicyclist at all times.

(2) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class A traffic infraction.”

A: Colorado law requires that every vehicle (this include bicycles) that is on a highway within the state shall display lighted lamps and illuminating devices during sunset or sunrise when, due to insufficient light or unfavorable conditions, persons or vehicles are not clearing discernable from a distance of 1,000 feet.[12]

A: There are several laws that are specifically for cyclists in Colorado.  The first is that every person riding a bicycle shall have all the rights and duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle.  Col. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1412(1).

Additionally, a bicycle shall be used to carry only the amount of people that it was designed or equipped to carry; Col. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1412(3) and no person riding a bicycle will try to attach themselves to any motor vehicle upon a roadway. Col. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1412(4).

If a person is riding a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic they shall ride in the right-hand lane; Col. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1412(5)(a) and shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for exclusive use for bicycles. Col. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1412(6)(b).

Furthermore, every bicycle, ridden during sunset or sunrise, shall be equipped with a lamp on the front emitting a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet to the front and a red reflector of a type approved by the department, which shall be visible for six hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. Col. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-221(3)-(4).