A 45-year-old woman was injured in an Orange County car accident after her bicycle was struck by a car at an Irvine intersection. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the accident occurred the morning of November 16, 2009, when a 71-year-old man driving east on Irvine Center Drive crashed into the female bicyclist who was apparently crossing the intersection. Irvine police say it is not clear how bad the woman's injuries were. The driver was uninjured. The woman was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Police are still investigating the cause of this bicycle accident and are asking that anyone who witnessed the collision call 949-724-7024.

I hope that the bicyclist's injuries were not major. I wish her the very best for a speedy and complete recovery from her injuries. She will be in my prayers.

Orange County Bicycle Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), two people died and 43 sustained injuries as a result of serious bicycle accident cases in Irvine, California. In Orange County as a whole, bicycle accidents claimed 16 lives and injured 1,020 in 2007. Countywide, there were 178 fatalities and 14,185 injuries in 2007 as a result of car accidents.

The city of Irvine prides itself as being bicycle friendly with over 44 miles of off-road bicycle trails and 282 miles of on-road bicycle lanes. Based on this newspaper report, it is not very clear exactly how or why this car accident occurred. There are many questions that still need to be answered here. We don't know at which Irvine intersection, this accident happened. Was there a crosswalk or a walk light at this intersection. We don't know if the bicyclist was riding or "walking" her bike at that intersection. Who had the right-of-way at the time of the accident? Was the 71-year-old driver impaired, speeding, distracted or otherwise negligent while driving? These are at least, some of the questions that must be answered in order to determine who or what caused this accident.

Liability Issues in Car Accidents

If the driver is determined to have caused the accident then he could be held liable for the bicyclist's injuries. She could claim compensation to cover medical expenses, lost wages, cost of hospitalization and other accident-related expenses. If there was a dangerous condition at the intersection, which caused or contributed to this collision, the city of Irvine could be held liable as well. California Government Code states that any claim against a governmental entity must be filed within six months of the accident or injury.

In such cases, car accident victims or their families would be well-advised to seek the counsel of an experienced Orange County personal injury lawyer, who will stay on top of the official investigation and make sure that their legal rights are protected. A skilled car accident attorney will look at an incident from all angles to determine whether there was any negligence involved.

Bookmark and Share