Bicycle Accident Lawyer in Kent, WA

A cyclist has no bumper, no airbag, and no steel around them. That is the whole problem. The same collision that leaves a car with a scuffed fender puts a rider in an ambulance.

We have handled injury claims from our Kent office since 1984, and bicycle cases have a pattern that car cases do not. The driver almost always says they never saw the rider. Sometimes that is true. It is not a defense.

Washington treats a bicycle as a vehicle. A rider carries the same duties as a driver and, more to the point here, the same rights.

That matters because of what insurers try first. The adjuster will suggest the rider was somewhere they should not have been, moving faster than they should have, or dressed too dark to see. Those arguments work on people who assume a cyclist is a guest on the road rather than a legitimate user of it.

Were you actually doing anything wrong, or does it only feel that way because you were the one who got hurt?

Most riders we meet have been talked into doubting themselves before they ever call a lawyer. That happens in the first phone call with the insurer, and it is worth resisting.

Bicycle injuries skew toward the expensive kind. Fractured collarbones and wrists. Road rash that needs grafting. Head injuries, which we handle alongside our traumatic brain injury practice because the symptoms often surface days later.

A claim covers your medical treatment, your lost income, the cost of future care, the bike and gear, and the pain and disruption of the injury itself. That last part is where the real disagreement happens, and it is where having someone push back matters most.

We will not put a number on it over the phone. Anyone who does is guessing at your medical future before your own doctor has.

So why does the first offer always arrive so fast?

Because early is cheap. An offer made in week two is priced against a hospital bill and nothing else, before anyone knows whether the shoulder heals or needs surgery, and before you have missed a full month of work. Signing it closes the claim permanently, including the parts nobody had measured yet.

A frustrating share of bicycle cases involve a driver who left the scene or carries the state minimum, which does not go far against a serious injury.

Your own auto policy may cover you anyway. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage follows the person, not the car, so it can apply when you are on a bike and the driver at fault cannot pay. Most riders have no idea this is true. We check it in the first meeting, every time. There is more on how that works on our uninsured and underinsured motorist page.

Our process runs four steps and the order protects the case.

A free consultation, where you tell us what happened and we tell you honestly what the claim looks like.

Investigation. We gather the police report, medical records, and witness statements, and we bring in a reconstruction expert when the driver's version does not match the physical damage.

Negotiation with the insurer. If the offer does not reflect what the file is worth, we litigate.

Our fee is contingent. No recovery, no legal fee, and no bill for the consultation.