Medical care
Emergency treatment for impact injuries and the follow-up care that becomes necessary once the full extent is known.
Florida personal injury attorneys
Bicycle Accident Lawyer
A bicycle offers no protection in a collision. The law offers more than most cyclists realize. Florida law treats cyclists as full road users with real rights, not an afterthought. When a driver ignores those rights, we hold them accountable.
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A cyclist's rights on the road
The road belongs to you as much as to the driver.
Under Florida Statute 316.2065, a person riding a bicycle on the road has the same rights and the same duties as the driver of any other vehicle.
That single rule undercuts one of the most common defenses raised after a bicycle collision, the idea that a cyclist was somehow in the driver's way rather than lawfully using the road. When a cyclist moves to a sidewalk or crosswalk, the same statute shifts them to pedestrian rights and duties instead, which matters for how fault at an intersection gets analyzed.
Two specific Florida traffic laws come up constantly in real bicycle cases. Florida Statute 316.2005 makes it illegal to open a car door into traffic unless it's reasonably safe, the basis for a dooring claim against a parked driver or passenger. And Florida's three-foot passing law, Florida Statute 316.083, requires a driver overtaking a cyclist to leave at least three feet of space or wait for a safe opportunity to pass, a rule insurers rarely bring up on their own but that can decisively establish fault when a passing driver clipped a rider. The same comparative negligence and insurance principles that apply to car accidents apply here too.
01
Where you were riding is the first fact insurers dispute.
Bike lane, shoulder, or roadway. Photos of the lane markings, road conditions, and lighting settle that early, before memory becomes the only record of the layout.
In the first hours
Get checked. Record the road.
Bicycle collisions get argued over lane position and right of way. What you capture at the scene shapes both arguments.
01 /
Get medical attention right away
Impact injuries from bicycle collisions are frequently more serious than they feel at first. Adrenaline hides a great deal.
02 /
Photograph the exact location
Lane position, bike lane markings, and door zones are all relevant evidence. So is the lighting at the time of the crash.
03 /
Get the police report
Officers don't always correctly apply Florida's cyclist right-of-way rules on scene. Get a copy anyway. Where it is wrong, the photos and witnesses correct it.
04 /
Don't accept blame at the scene
What feels like a natural apology can be used against you later. Exchange information and let the facts do the talking.
Want the federal guidance on cyclist safety and roadway rules? The federal highway safety agency publishes it. NHTSA, Bicycle Safety ↗
What a claim can address
The bike takes the hit. The rider takes the rest.
A collision with a car leaves a cyclist with injuries that a driver in the same crash would walk away from. The claim should account for that difference.
The first assessment rarely shows the full injury. The claim can wait for the full picture.
Head and lasting injuries
A head injury, and the longer effects a serious collision leaves behind after the visible wounds heal.
The full recovery
Florida's comparative negligence rule reduces a recovery only by your actual percentage of fault in causing the crash. A helmet choice alone does not create that fault.
E-bikes under Florida law
An electric bicycle is a bicycle. The statute is clear on that.
Under Florida Statute 316.20655, an e-bike rider gets the same rights, privileges, and duties as a traditional bicyclist, and may ride anywhere bicycles are allowed, including streets, shoulders, bike lanes, and multiuse paths, though a local government can still restrict sidewalk or path riding by its own ordinance.
Florida defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle with a motor under 750 watts and functional pedals, classified as Class 1, 2, or 3 depending on whether it's pedal-assist or throttle-capable and how fast the motor cuts off. That matters because insurers sometimes try to treat an e-bike more like a moped or motor vehicle to shift blame, when the law treats it like a bicycle.
NHTSA bicycle safety guidance ↗207bicycle fatalities in Florida in 2024
1,075bicyclists killed nationally in 2024, third-highest ever recorded
Sources: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Annual Traffic Crash Report 2024; IIHS, Fatality Facts 2024, Bicyclists (NHTSA FARS data).
§ 316.2065
What we look at first
Most bicycle collisions follow one of a few patterns. Each one points to a specific rule the driver broke.
01
The driver's movement
A dooring from a parked car, or a right-hook turn where a driver cuts across a bike lane, are the two most common ways a cyclist gets hit.
A dooring from a parked car, or a right-hook turn where a driver cuts across a bike lane, are the two most common ways a cyclist gets hit.
02
The passing margin
Florida Statute 316.083 requires at least three feet when a driver passes a cyclist. A pass closer than that which ends in contact is strong evidence of fault.
Florida Statute 316.083 requires at least three feet when a driver passes a cyclist. A pass closer than that which ends in contact is strong evidence of fault.
03
Visibility and lighting
Dawn, dusk, and nighttime crashes turn on whether the bike was properly lit and whether the driver should have seen a properly lit rider.
Dawn, dusk, and nighttime crashes turn on whether the bike was properly lit and whether the driver should have seen a properly lit rider.
Where the cyclist actually was matters most. Whether a cyclist was riding in a bike lane, on the shoulder, or in the roadway often becomes the central fact insurers dispute after a crash. Photos of the actual lane markings, road conditions, and lighting at the scene can settle that dispute quickly, before it turns into a drawn-out argument over who remembers the layout correctly.
How we work
You recover. We make the insurer read the statute.
Insurers reach for the same assumptions after every bicycle crash: the rider was in the way, unlit, or unhelmeted. We answer each one with the road rules and the evidence.
Talk with our team01
We establish your legal position on the roadRoadway, bike lane, sidewalk, or crosswalk. Florida Statute 316.2065 assigns different rights to each, and we pin down where you actually were.
02
We apply the specific statutesThe dooring rule, the three-foot passing law, and the e-bike statute rarely come up on their own. We bring them into the claim.
03
We handle the fault argumentHelmet choice and lighting get raised as comparative negligence. We tie any reduction to what actually caused the crash, not to an assumption.
Nighttime riding and common collisions
Lighting is the first thing an insurer checks after dark.
Florida recorded 207 bicycle fatalities in 2024, a real reflection of how much road-sharing risk cyclists face in this state. Nighttime crashes bring their own real evidentiary issue, and the common daytime patterns each have a rule behind them.
01
Required lights after sunset
Florida Statute 316.2065 requires a bicycle in use between sunset and sunrise to have a front white light visible from at least 500 feet and a rear red light and reflector visible from at least 600 feet.
02
It cuts both ways
Whether a cyclist's bike was properly lit at the time of a nighttime crash is often one of the first things an insurer investigates, and it cuts both ways, since a driver's failure to see a properly lit cyclist is not the cyclist's fault.
03
Dooring and right hooks
A driver dooring a cyclist from a parked car, and a right-hook turn where a driver cuts across a bike lane, are two of the collision patterns we see most often.
04
Close passes and low visibility
A driver passing without the legal three-foot margin, and poor visibility during dawn, dusk, or nighttime riding, account for much of the rest.
How it starts
Three steps, beginning with a conversation.
No forms to complete before you reach us. Just tell us what you remember.
01
Describe the collision
Where you were riding, what the driver did, and what has happened since.
02
Hear the honest read
We explain which Florida rules apply, what the evidence needs to show, and what to expect from the insurer.
03
Hand it over
If we take the case, we manage the claim from there. Your only job is getting better.
Not sure whether you were partly at fault? Tell us anyway. That question is decided by evidence, not by how you felt at the scene.
Bicycle accident questions
The rules, in plain language.
General answers to common questions. Your crash has its own facts, and we would rather hear them.
Ask about your collision ↗Do cyclists have the same rights as drivers on Florida roads?
Yes. Under Florida Statute 316.2065, a bicyclist has all the same rights and duties as the driver of a vehicle, except for the specific bicycle regulations in that chapter. When riding on a sidewalk or in a crosswalk, the same statute instead gives the cyclist the rights and duties of a pedestrian.
What happens if I was "doored" by a parked car while biking?
Florida law makes it illegal to open a vehicle door into traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so, under Florida Statute 316.2005. A door opened into a cyclist's path can support a negligence claim against the driver or passenger who opened it.
How much room does a car have to give a cyclist when passing?
Florida's three-foot passing law, Florida Statute 316.083, requires a driver overtaking a bicycle in the same lane to leave at least three feet of separation, or to wait until it is safe to pass at that distance. A pass that violates this margin and results in a collision is strong evidence of driver fault.
Can I still recover damages if I wasn't wearing a helmet?
Yes. Not wearing a helmet does not bar a bicycle injury claim in Florida. Florida's modified comparative negligence rule under Florida Statute 768.81 can reduce recovery based on your actual percentage of fault in causing the crash itself, but a helmet choice alone does not automatically establish that kind of fault the way it might for a head injury argument in other contexts.
Do e-bikes have the same road rights as regular bicycles in Florida?
Yes. Under Florida Statute 316.20655, an e-bike rider has the same rights, privileges, and duties as a traditional bicyclist and may ride anywhere bicycles are allowed, including streets, shoulders, bike lanes, and multiuse paths. A local government can still restrict sidewalk or path riding by its own ordinance, and insurers sometimes try to treat an e-bike more like a moped or motor vehicle to shift blame, when the law treats it like a bicycle.
What lights does Florida require on a bicycle at night?
Florida Statute 316.2065 requires a bicycle in use between sunset and sunrise to have a front white light visible from at least 500 feet and a rear red light and reflector visible from at least 600 feet. Whether a bike was properly lit is often one of the first things an insurer investigates after a nighttime crash, and a driver's failure to see a properly lit cyclist is not the cyclist's fault.
Proof and further reading
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