If you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident, contact this Fort Lauderdale Bicycle Accident Lawyer. He handles all types of bike accident, crash and wreck cases in Broward County, South Florida, and throughout Florida.

Bicycle crashes can be caused by all sorts of reasons. For one, bicycles can be hit by other vehicles. If you are a bicyclist hit by another vehicle, you may have a case against the driver of the other vehicle. Bicyclists have every right to the road as other vehicles. If you are hit by another vehicle while biking in a place where you are allowed to be, you can bring a case.

Sometimes both the bike rider and the driver of the vehicle that hit the bike will be at fault for the accident. In that case, Mr. Morse will argue that the vehicle driver had the “last clear chance” to avoid the accident. That is, it is usually much easier for the driver of a vehicle to avoid hitting a bicyclist than it is for the bicyclist to get out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

Bicycle wrecks can also be caused by defects in the roadway. For example, bike crashes can be caused when a bicycle hits a pothole, divot, open drainage grate, open drainage plate, or other defect in the roadway. When this happens, you may have a case against whoever constructed or maintained the roadway. This would be known as a roadway construction case. Highways and roads in Florida are typically owned by governmental entities – for example, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), a specific county, or a specific city. However, oftentimes those governmental entitles hire private contractors to either construct or maintain their roadways. If a private contractor created, or allowed to remain, a defect in the roadway, your claim would be against the private contractor. In many ways, this would be preferable because then you would avoid the limitations of sovereign immunity.

In the State of Florida, governmental entities are protected by sovereign immunity. This means that, if you bring a case against a governmental entity, there will be various restrictions and limitations on your case. For example, if you pursue a case against a governmental entity in the State of Florida, you will only be able to recover up to $200,000. The only exception to this would be if you were able to pursue (and the Florida State Legislature passed) a “Claims Bill” allowing you to recover more than $200,000 in compensation, but this is not an easy process.

Additionally, if you pursue a sovereign immunity case against a governmental entity in the State of Florida, you will have to put the governmental entity on notice of the claim within three years. After you give this notice, you will have to wait six months before filing suit against the governmental entity (which must be done within four years). These limits may be different in the situation of a wrongful death case.

Moreover, when a contractor constructs a roadway for a governmental entity and a defect in the roadway ends up causing you injury, the contractor may raise a doctrine called the “Slavin Doctrine.” This indicates that, if the defect in the roadway was “patent” (i.e., open and obvious) to the governmental entity when the roadway was turned over to the governmental entity, then the contractor will not be responsible for it. The argument is that the governmental entity becomes responsible for the roadway once the roadway is turned over, and the governmental entity should have noticed and fixed the defect at that point.

On the other hand, if the dangerous condition was “latent” (i.e., not open and obvious), then the contractor will be responsible for it and the governmental entity will not.

Roadway construction cases can be based on defective or insufficient lighting; missing stop signs; and missing, broken or defective traffic lights. Roadway construction cases may also be based on improperly placed attenuators (also known as “crash cushions”), improperly placed traffic barrels, or debris from construction sites. Likewise, roadway construction cases may be based on improperly angled roads. Finally, roadway construction cases may be based on improper “maintenance of traffic” (MOT).

Bike crashes may also be caused by defective bicycle or bicycle parts. If this is the case, you may have a case against the manufacturer of your bike. This would be known as a bicycle products liability case.

If you sustain injuries in a bike crash occurring anywhere in Miami, West Palm Beach or anywhere in Florida, contact Stephen Morse at 954-560-3063 for a free, no obligation consultation. If you hire Mr. Morse to work on your case, there will be no charge to you at the onset of your case. Mr. Morse will not get paid unless and until you’ve been compensated for your harm.