The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of a bicycle rider– who was killed while competing in a mountain bike race near Moab, Utah — was dismissed by the 10th circuit court who claimed the rider took on the risk in competing.

A fatal bicycle accident happens every six hours in the United States.  Bicycle accident lawyers know that bicycle crashes often lead to injuries and wrongful deaths.  In 2004 alone, 725 wrongful deaths happened in bicycle accidents, and 41,000 bike riders suffered personal injury — sometimes as catastrophic as brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.

Albuquerque, New Mexico native Samuel Hall, 33 died from traumatic brain injuries he suffered in a bicycle accident during the 2004 Tour of Canyonlands.  Hall was attempting to pass another rider, Robert J. Milne – who suffered catastrophic injuries – when their handlebars locked, veering towards an SUV towing a trailer and resulting in a fatal bicycle accident.

The wrongful death lawsuit claimed that USA Cycling of Colorado Springs and Cycle Cyndicate of Arvada, Colorado, the race organizers, were aware of the dangers of the bike course – where bicyclists share the road with motorists for the first six miles of the race — but failed to conduct any safety measures to ensure the bicyclists well-being.

The wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed previously in 2007.  The judge ruled that the racers were forewarned they would be sharing the road, and that race organizers had used the appropriate warning signs to let bike riders know about the dangers of the race.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Salt Lake City, Utah – who upheld the dismissal of the wrongful death lawsuit — made their decision based on the precautions taken by the organizers, including posting signs warning people in the area of the upcoming race; placing attendants near the starting line to warn drivers about the riders; and telling riders that they would be sharing the course with automobiles.

Please remember, a bicycle is a vehicle.   As a bicyclist, you are more likely to get seriously injured in a bike accident because you are sharing the roadways with cars and other larger automobiles so you should always be aware of your surrounding to avoid getting into a bicycle accident.

Please feel free to call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.  No fee if no recovery.

About Michael Pines

Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.