In every state, a bicycle is a vehicle with a right to the road. Drivers do not always act like it, and when two tons of steel meets a bike, the cyclist pays the price for the driver's impatience. Verde Law represents injured cyclists in all 50 states, and we build these cases around a simple truth: you belonged there, and the person who hit you had a duty to see you.
The rules that protect riders
Most states, including Florida, require drivers to leave at least three feet when passing a cyclist. Opening a car door into a rider's path, the classic dooring crash, is on the person who opened the door. And helmet laws vary by state, but here is the point that matters in a claim: in Florida the statute says flatly that not wearing a helmet cannot be used as evidence of negligence against you, and wherever your crash happened, we make the medicine say the same thing, because helmets do not prevent shattered collarbones, crushed hands, or destroyed knees.
The crashes we see most
The left cross, where a driver turns across your path. The right hook, where a car passes and turns into you. The dooring. The too-close pass. The driveway and parking lot pull-out. Each pattern has its own proof, and "I didn't see them" is not a defense. It is an admission of not looking.
Paying the bills
In no-fault states like Florida, PIP can cover a cyclist struck by a motor vehicle, through your own household auto policy or, if none exists, the striking vehicle's insurer, with Florida's 14-day window applying. In at-fault states, the driver's liability coverage and your health insurance carry the load. Either way, the driver's insurer does not get the last word on your treatment. Your doctors do.
Damages that match the injuries
A bike offers no protection, so the injuries run serious: fractures, traumatic brain injuries even with a helmet, road rash requiring grafts, shoulder and wrist damage that follows you for years. We document permanence with specialists and pursue pain and suffering wherever the governing law allows it, because a lowball offer priced for a fender-bender has nothing to do with what happened to you.
I wasn't wearing a helmet. Do I still have a case?
Yes. Fault belongs to the driver who hit you, and in Florida the law specifically bars using helmet non-use as evidence of negligence.
A parked driver opened a door into me. Whose fault is that?
Theirs. Dooring is a negligence claim against the person who opened the door without looking, and it is one we handle regularly.
My crash happened in another state. Can you take it?
Yes. We represent cyclists in all 50 states and apply the law of the state where you were hit.
Free, bilingual case review, no fee unless we win. Bring us the crash report and the bike; both are evidence.