Bicycle Accidents

After being hit while riding your bicycle in Indiana, prioritize your safety by moving away from traffic, call 911 to report the accident and request medical assistance, document the scene with photos and witness information, and consult with a bicycle accident attorney before speaking with insurance companies. These steps protect both your health and your right to compensation.

Your immediate actions following a bicycle accident can significantly impact your physical recovery and ability to obtain fair compensation for your injuries. Indiana is a fault-based insurance state, meaning the person who caused the crash bears financial responsibility for damages and injuries.

First, if you are able, move yourself and your bicycle away from traffic to a safe location. Your safety is the top priority. Call 911 immediately to report the accident and request emergency medical services if needed. Even if you feel fine initially, shock and adrenaline can mask pain and symptoms of serious injuries. Many bicycle accident injuries, including concussions, internal bleeding, and soft tissue damage, may not become apparent until hours or days after the collision. A police report creates official documentation of the accident, which serves as valuable evidence for your claim.

Seek medical attention immediately, either at the scene via ambulance or by visiting an emergency room as soon as possible. Medical records establish a direct link between the accident and your injuries, which is critical for proving your damages. Delaying treatment gives insurance companies ammunition to argue that your injuries were not caused by the accident or are not as serious as claimed.

Document everything at the scene if you are physically able. Take photographs of vehicle positions, your bicycle and its damage, road conditions, traffic signs, skid marks, debris, and weather conditions. Capture images of your injuries, including cuts, bruises, road rash, and any visible trauma. Collect contact information from anyone who witnessed the accident, as their testimony can corroborate your account of what happened.

Exchange information with the driver who hit you, including their name, address, phone number, driver’s license number, license plate number, and insurance policy information. However, avoid discussing fault or apologizing at the scene, as even innocent comments can be misconstrued as admissions of liability. Do not give any recorded statements to the driver’s insurance company without first consulting an attorney.

Preserve all evidence from the accident. Keep your damaged bicycle, helmet, clothing, and any other items involved in the collision in their post-accident condition. Do not repair or dispose of anything until you have documented it thoroughly or your attorney advises you to do so.

Contact a bicycle accident attorney before speaking with any insurance companies. Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize payouts, and they may attempt to get you to say something that damages your claim. An experienced attorney can handle all communications with insurers and protect your interests throughout the claims process.

Yes, you can absolutely file a claim if you were hit by a car while not riding in a bike lane. Indiana law does not require cyclists to use bike lanes, and bicyclists have the same legal rights to use roadways as motor vehicle drivers. Your location on the road does not prevent you from recovering compensation if another party’s negligence caused your injuries.

Under Indiana Code § 9-21-11-2, bicyclists have all the rights and duties applicable to motor vehicle drivers when riding on roadways. This means cyclists are legally entitled to share the road with cars and trucks, regardless of whether a designated bike lane exists. Bicyclists may use bike lanes when available, but importantly, they are not required to ride in bike lanes under Indiana law.

When riding slower than the speed of ordinary traffic, cyclists should stay in the right-hand lane or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge of the roadway. However, Indiana law recognizes several exceptions that allow cyclists to take a more central position on the road, including when avoiding hazards, preparing for a left turn, or traveling on roads too narrow for a bicycle and motor vehicle to safely share side by side. In these situations, cyclists are entitled to ride in the center of the lane to increase visibility and safety.

The critical factor in determining liability is not whether you were in a bike lane, but whether you and the driver were following traffic laws and exercising reasonable care. If a driver failed to yield to you, passed too closely, was distracted, ran a stop sign, or otherwise violated traffic laws, they can be held responsible for the accident regardless of where on the road you were riding.

Motorists in Indiana have specific duties to protect cyclists. Under Indiana’s safe passing law (effective July 1, 2019), drivers must maintain a minimum clearance of three feet when overtaking bicycles and may only return to their lane when it is safe to do so. Drivers must also check for cyclists when opening vehicle doors—a common cause of serious accidents known as “dooring.”

Insurance companies may attempt to argue that your failure to use an available bike lane contributed to the accident, but this argument lacks legal merit since bike lane use is not mandatory. An experienced bicycle accident attorney can counter such tactics and establish that the driver’s negligence, not your road position, caused your injuries.

Indiana follows a modified comparative fault system. You can recover compensation as long as you are less than 51% at fault for the accident. Even if you are found partially responsible, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than eliminated entirely.

After a bicycle accident in Indiana, you may recover economic damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage; non-economic damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life; and in cases involving extreme negligence such as drunk driving, punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer. There is no cap on pain and suffering damages in most personal injury cases.

Compensation in Indiana bicycle accident cases falls into three main categories: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages compensate you for quantifiable financial losses directly resulting from the accident:

Medical expenses include all costs related to treating your injuries, such as emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, diagnostic tests, prescription medications, physical therapy, rehabilitation services, and any necessary medical equipment. Bicycle accidents frequently result in severe injuries including traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord damage, internal injuries, road rash, and facial trauma. Future medical expenses for ongoing treatment and anticipated care should also be included.

Lost wages cover income you lost while recovering from your injuries and unable to work. If your injuries result in long-term or permanent disability affecting your earning capacity, you may also recover compensation for lost future earnings. This calculation often requires expert testimony from economists or vocational specialists.

Property damage includes the cost to repair or replace your bicycle, helmet, cycling gear, personal electronics, and any other property damaged in the collision.

Non-Economic Damages compensate for intangible losses that significantly impact your quality of life:

Pain and suffering accounts for the physical pain and discomfort you experience from your injuries, medical treatment, and recovery process. This includes both immediate pain and any chronic or long-term discomfort. Courts and insurance companies often use a multiplier method, multiplying economic damages by a factor of one to five depending on injury severity.

Emotional distress covers psychological impacts including anxiety, depression, fear of cycling again, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health effects resulting from the accident.

Loss of enjoyment of life compensates you for the inability to participate in activities you enjoyed before the accident, including cycling itself and other hobbies or recreational pursuits.

Loss of consortium allows your spouse to recover damages for the loss of companionship, affection, and intimacy resulting from your injuries.

Permanent disability or disfigurement warrants additional compensation for lasting impairments, including scarring from road rash, loss of limb function, or other permanent changes affecting your daily life.

Punitive Damages may be awarded in cases involving extreme negligence or intentional misconduct, such as drunk driving or hit-and-run accidents. Under Indiana law, punitive damages are capped at the greater of $50,000 or three times the compensatory damages, with 75% going to the state and 25% to you.

Indiana does not cap pain and suffering damages in most personal injury cases. However, claims against government entities are limited to $700,000, and medical malpractice claims are capped at $1.8 million.

If the driver who hit you fled the scene, you may still recover compensation through your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which treats hit-and-run drivers as uninsured motorists. Indiana law requires insurance companies to offer UM coverage on all automobile policies, and this coverage can pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering when the at-fault driver cannot be identified.

Hit-and-run accidents present unique challenges for injured cyclists because without an identifiable at-fault driver, there is no insurance policy to file a claim against directly. However, Indiana law provides important protections for victims in these situations.

Immediate Steps After a Hit-and-Run:

If you are able, try to note any details about the fleeing vehicle, including the make, model, color, license plate number (even partial), and direction of travel. Call 911 immediately to report the hit-and-run accident. Police investigation may help identify the driver through surveillance cameras, witness accounts, or other evidence.

Seek medical attention promptly and document your injuries thoroughly. Collect contact information from any witnesses who saw the accident or the fleeing vehicle. Take photographs of the accident scene, your injuries, and your damaged bicycle.

Insurance Coverage Options:

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is your primary source of compensation in hit-and-run cases. Under Indiana law, insurance companies must offer UM coverage on all automobile policies unless the policyholder specifically rejects it in writing. If you have UM coverage on your auto insurance policy, it can cover your damages when struck by an unidentified hit-and-run driver, treating the fleeing driver as “uninsured” for insurance purposes.

UM coverage typically provides compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages up to your policy limits. Indiana requires a minimum UM coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury.

Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage, if you have it, can help cover immediate medical bills regardless of fault, providing crucial early financial relief while you pursue other compensation.

Collision coverage on your auto policy may cover damage to your bicycle if you were hit by a motor vehicle, though you would need to pay your deductible.

If the Driver Is Later Identified:

If police investigation or witnesses help identify the hit-and-run driver, you can pursue a claim against their insurance company or file a lawsuit directly against them. Hit-and-run drivers who are identified face not only civil liability but also criminal penalties, including fines and potential jail time for leaving the scene of an accident.

When a hit-and-run driver is identified and found to have engaged in reckless behavior, such as fleeing the scene or driving under the influence, you may be entitled to punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

Important Deadlines:

Report the hit-and-run to your insurance company promptly, as some policies have notification requirements as short as 30 days. Indiana’s two-year statute of limitations applies to personal injury claims, so you should consult with an attorney quickly to protect your rights.

No, Indiana has no statewide helmet law requiring cyclists of any age to wear helmets while riding bicycles. Unlike motorcycle helmet laws that mandate helmets for minors, no such requirement exists for bicycles under Indiana state law. Your decision not to wear a helmet cannot be used as automatic proof of negligence or bar you from recovering compensation if another party’s negligence caused your accident.

Indiana does not have a universal bicycle helmet requirement for adults or children. While Indiana law does require minors riding motorcycles to wear helmets, this requirement does not extend to bicycles. A 2020 bill that would have required helmets for cyclists under 18 was dropped and never became law. As of now, no statewide bicycle helmet mandate exists in Indiana.

Some local municipalities may have their own helmet ordinances, so cyclists should check regulations specific to their area. However, at the state level, there is no penalty or fine for choosing not to wear a bicycle helmet.

Because helmet use is not legally required in Indiana, not wearing one cannot be considered negligence per se (negligence as a matter of law). This distinguishes bicycle accidents from car accidents where the “seat belt defense” may apply—since seatbelts are legally required, failure to wear one can be used to reduce damages. The same principle does not apply to bicycle helmets in Indiana because wearing one is not mandated by law.

However, insurance companies may still attempt to argue that your injuries, particularly head injuries, would have been less severe if you had worn a helmet. They may try to use your helmet non-use to reduce your compensation through Indiana’s comparative fault system. This is a common tactic to shift some blame to the cyclist and decrease the insurance company’s payout.

An experienced bicycle accident attorney can effectively counter these arguments in several ways:

If your most serious injuries are to areas a helmet would not have protected—such as your arms, legs, torso, or spine—the helmet argument becomes largely irrelevant. Helmets primarily protect against head injuries like skull fractures and brain trauma; they do not prevent broken bones, internal injuries, road rash, or spinal cord damage.

Medical experts can testify about the nature of your injuries and whether a helmet would have made any difference. Even concussions and head injuries can occur despite helmet use, depending on the force and angle of impact.

Accident reconstruction experts can establish that the driver’s negligence caused the collision itself, which is separate from the severity of resulting injuries.

While wearing a helmet is strongly recommended for safety reasons—studies show helmets can reduce head injury risk by up to 70%—the choice to ride without one is legal in Indiana and should not prevent you from recovering full compensation for injuries caused by another party’s negligence.

Liability in Indiana bicycle accident cases is determined by establishing which party acted negligently—that is, who failed to exercise reasonable care and caused the collision. Indiana follows a modified comparative fault system where you can recover compensation if you are less than 51% at fault, but your award is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If you are 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover any damages.

Under Indiana law, bicyclists have the same rights and duties as motor vehicle drivers when using roadways. This means the same negligence principles that apply to car accidents apply to bicycle accidents. To establish liability, you must prove four elements: the defendant owed you a duty of care, they breached that duty, their breach directly caused the accident and your injuries, and you suffered actual damages as a result.

Common Driver Negligence Leading to Bicycle Accidents:

Drivers frequently cause bicycle accidents through distracted driving (texting, phone use, eating), failing to yield the right-of-way at intersections, making unsafe lane changes without checking for cyclists, following too closely, speeding, running red lights or stop signs, opening car doors without checking for approaching cyclists (dooring), driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and failing to maintain the required three-foot clearance when passing cyclists.

Indiana’s Safe Passing Law:

Indiana law requires motorists to provide at least three feet of clearance when passing bicycles and to return to their lane only when it is safe to do so. Violations of this law constitute negligence and support liability claims against drivers who pass too closely.

Evidence Used to Determine Fault:

Police reports document the officer’s observations and often contain opinions about causation. Witness statements from people who saw the accident provide third-party corroboration. Photographs and video footage of the scene preserve crucial details about vehicle positions, road conditions, and damage patterns. Surveillance or dashcam footage can definitively establish what happened. Accident reconstruction experts analyze physical evidence to recreate how the collision occurred. Medical records document the nature and severity of injuries.

Comparative Fault in Indiana:

Indiana’s modified comparative fault system allows fault to be apportioned among all parties, including the injured cyclist. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you suffered $100,000 in damages and are found 20% at fault, you would recover $80,000. However, if you are found 51% or more at fault, you are completely barred from recovering any compensation.

Multiple Potentially Liable Parties:

Beyond negligent drivers, other parties may share liability: government entities if dangerous road conditions (potholes, missing signage, poor maintenance) contributed to the accident; bicycle or component manufacturers if defective products caused the crash; employers if the at-fault driver was working at the time; and property owners if hazardous conditions on their premises contributed to the accident.

Claims against government entities have special rules and shorter deadlines (180-270 days for notice), so immediate legal consultation is essential if you believe a government agency bears responsibility.

Indiana’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of your bicycle accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline typically results in permanent dismissal of your case, regardless of how strong your claim may be. Claims against government entities have even shorter deadlines of 180 to 270 days for required written notice.

Under Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4, you have exactly two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in court. This deadline applies to claims for bodily injury, property damage, pain and suffering, and all other damages arising from bicycle accidents. If you fail to file within this statutory period, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, and you will lose your right to seek compensation through the legal system.

When the Clock Starts:

The two-year statute of limitations typically begins running on the date the accident occurred. However, Indiana recognizes a “discovery rule” exception for injuries that are not immediately apparent. If you could not reasonably have discovered your injury despite exercising due diligence, the deadline may begin from the date you discovered or should have discovered the injury rather than the accident date.

Special Circumstances That May Extend or Toll the Deadline:

Minor victims have special protections under Indiana Code § 34-11-6-1. If a child under age 18 was injured in the bicycle accident, the statute of limitations is tolled (paused) until they reach age 18, at which point they have two years to file a lawsuit. This means an injured 10-year-old would have until age 20 to file suit.

Mentally incapacitated individuals may have the statute tolled until they regain competency, after which they have two years to file.

Fraudulent concealment by the defendant may extend the deadline if the at-fault party deliberately hid their role in causing your injury.

Claims Against Government Entities:

If your bicycle accident was caused by dangerous road conditions maintained by a city, county, or state agency, special and much shorter deadlines apply under the Indiana Tort Claims Act. You must provide written notice of your intent to file a claim within 180 to 270 days, depending on which government entity is involved. This notice must be submitted to the appropriate government body before you can file a lawsuit. Missing this notice deadline can permanently bar your claim even if the two-year statute of limitations has not expired.

Wrongful Death Claims:

If a bicycle accident results in death, the victim’s estate has two years from the date of death (not the accident date) to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

Why You Should Act Quickly:

Do not wait until deadlines approach. Evidence deteriorates rapidly after accidents—physical evidence is cleared or repaired, witness memories fade, surveillance footage may be deleted, and crucial documentation can be lost. Insurance companies also use delays against claimants, arguing that serious injuries would prompt immediate legal action.

Additionally, bicycle accident cases often require extensive investigation, evidence gathering, expert consultations, and medical documentation. Your attorney needs sufficient time to build the strongest possible case. Contact an experienced bicycle accident attorney immediately after your accident to ensure all deadlines are met and your rights are fully protected.

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