Articles Posted in Bike Accident

Eric S. is an avid triathlete. In his early 50s, he is a top age group finisher in the triathlons he enters. To train, he spends many weekly hours on his bike on North County roads. It’s not uncommon for him to ride from his home in San Marcos east through Escondido toward the desert, or west through Carlsbad and up to San Clemente. Like most avid cyclists, he has had many close calls with inattentive drivers, and on January 11, 2011 his luck finally ran out.

On that day, Eric was riding his bike in the bike lane of El Norte Parkway in Escondido when he was cut off by a pickup truck. Eric collided with truck, and the impact knocked him off his bike and into a busy traffic lane. Luckily, he wasn’t struck when he hit the ground. The California Highway Patrol who investigated and made a report of the incident, concluded that the driver of the pickup was at fault for this accident when he failed to yield the right of way to Eric in violation of 22107 of the California Vehicle Code.

Eric was taken to Palomar Medical Center from the scene of the accident, and complained of right shoulder and arm pain, as well as pain to his lower ribs and chest. He didn’t lose consciousness, but he did hit his head hard enough to crack his helmet.  Several CT scans were taken which showed that Eric suffered a right clavicle fracture and a right inferior scapula fracture, as well as friction burns and multiple contusions to his chest, ribs and back.

Early last Sunday morning, a cyclist was struck and killed by a motor vehicle in Carlsbad, according to San Diego’s local CBS 8 News. In this bicycle accident case, the victim was headed north in the bike lane on El Camino Real, just north of La Costa, when a northbound vehicle struck the cyclist from behind. The victim had been with a fellow rider at the time of the accident. Several people called 911 to report the crash.

The victim, Eric Rindahl, was a 45-year-old Carlsbad resident with a wife and children, according to CarlsbadPatch.com.

Ringdahl sustained a head injury and was left unconscious after being struck from behind by the vehicle, according to the Carlsbad Police Department. Although police and fire personnel responded to the scene, the bicyclist died at the scene. At the time of the news report, the driver of the vehicle had not been cited or arrested, but the accident remains under investigation.

After being struck by a Chrysler sport-utility vehicle, a bicyclist was killed. According to a report from UT San Diego, the bicyclist has been identified as 63-year-old Charles Raymond Gilbreth. The accident occurred at 3:34 p.m. on Wednesday on Montezuma Avenue in the College Area. Both the driver of the SUV and Gilbreth were heading east on Montezuma. San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown stated that Gilbreth was in the bike lane when he was hit from behind. Although neither speed or alcohol were factors in the accident, the impact was substantial enough to give Gilbreth fatal injuries.

Like in many similar situations, our San Diego bike accident lawyer recognizes that the cause of the accident may have been negligence. Drivers have an obligation to adhere to a standard of care when driving. When drivers have poor judgment and fail to exercise safe driving habits, they have violated that standard of care and are thereby categorized as negligent drivers. From the information that has been disclosed thus far regarding this incident, it is possible that the driver of the SUV was not paying attention to the roadway when Gilbreth was struck. If the driver had been paying attention and exercising reasonable care while driving, the accident could have been prevented.

As mentioned in previous posts, San Diego wrongful death lawsuits are appropriate in situations such as these where a death would not have occurred had the responsible party for the death acted in a safe and reasonable manner. Surviving family members of the victims have standing to bring such lawsuits. Surviving family members who bring wrongful death lawsuits may have a difficult time receiving a favorable outcome from the court if the victim was also negligent during the incident. If the victim was also negligent, then this would create complications in establishing that the responsible party’s misconduct for the death was in fact the primary cause of the death.