Bicycle Accidents 9 min read
Houston's roads were not built with cyclists in mind. Wide arterials, distracted drivers, and limited dedicated bike infrastructure combine to make the city one of the more dangerous metros in Texas to ride. If a driver just hit you, you are likely facing a hospital bill, a totaled bicycle, time off work, and an insurance adjuster who is already looking for reasons to pay you as little as possible. This guide, written by Houston personal injury attorneys, explains your rights under Texas law and the steps that protect your claim from day one.
The majority of bicycle crashes we see at Mehdipour & Mehdipour share a small set of root causes. Distracted driving is the single biggest factor: a driver glances at a phone for two seconds at 35 mph and travels more than 100 feet without seeing the cyclist in front of them. Dooring incidents, where a parked driver opens a door directly into a bike lane, are common along Westheimer, Montrose, and other dense corridors near the Galleria.
Failure to yield at intersections is another frequent cause, especially when drivers make right turns across a bike lane or left turns across oncoming cyclists. Add in unsafe road conditions like potholes, missing signage, and poorly maintained shoulders, and the risk multiplies. Hit and run crashes are also disproportionately common against cyclists, because a driver who hits a bike can flee more easily than one who hits another car.
Understanding the cause of your crash matters because it determines who is liable. A distracted driver, a negligent property owner with a dangerous parking layout, and the City of Houston for a known road defect are all potential defendants in the right case. A Houston bicycle accident lawyer can investigate every angle.
Cyclists do not have airbags, crumple zones, or a steel cage. When a 4,000 pound vehicle makes contact, the human body absorbs almost all of the energy. The injuries we see most often are also the most expensive to treat: traumatic brain injury, even when a helmet is worn, broken bones in the wrists, collarbone, and hips from instinctive bracing, and spinal injuries that can lead to long term nerve damage or paralysis.
Road rash is often dismissed as superficial, but deep abrasions frequently require skin grafts and leave permanent scarring. In the most devastating cases, cyclist deaths in Harris County have continued to rise, and families left behind have a right to pursue a wrongful death claim under Texas law.
The first hour shapes everything that follows. Call 911 even if you think you can ride away. A Houston Police Department officer creating an official crash report is one of the strongest pieces of evidence your case will ever have. If the driver tries to talk you out of calling, that is a red flag, call anyway.
Document the scene before anything moves. Photograph the vehicle, the license plate, your bike, the roadway, skid marks, and any visible injuries. Get the names and numbers of every witness, because they vanish within minutes. Then get medical attention, even if your adrenaline is telling you that you feel fine. Brain injuries and internal bleeding often present hours later, and any gap in treatment will be used against you.
Do not give a recorded statement to the driver's insurance adjuster. They will call within 24 hours and sound friendly. Their job is to lock you into statements that minimize your injuries. Tell them your attorney will be in touch and contact a Houston personal injury attorney before you sign or say anything.
Under the Texas Transportation Code, a bicycle is treated as a vehicle and a cyclist has the same rights and duties as the driver of a car. Every motorist owes you a duty of care, which means driving attentively, yielding when required, and giving you a safe passing distance. When a driver breaches that duty and causes your injury, they are legally responsible for the harm.
Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule. Even if the insurance company argues you share some blame, for example by riding without a light at dusk, you can still recover damages as long as you are 50 percent or less at fault. Your award is reduced by your share. This is exactly the kind of argument adjusters love to make against cyclists, and it is exactly the kind of argument an experienced Houston bicycle accident attorney is trained to push back on.
The clock is short. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003 gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. If a government vehicle or a city road defect is involved, notice deadlines under the Texas Tort Claims Act can be as short as six months. Waiting is the single most common reason valid claims get lost.
Texas law allows injured cyclists to recover the full scope of their losses, not just the obvious ones. Past and future medical expenses, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, and the cost of replacing or repairing your bicycle and gear are all on the table.
In cases involving drunk driving, street racing, or other egregious conduct, Texas also permits punitive damages designed to punish the at fault driver. These cases require careful investigation and aggressive litigation, which is why choosing the right Houston bike accident lawyer matters.
We are a Houston personal injury law firm based in the Galleria, built on real trial experience and a commitment to maximum compensation. Our consultations are free, our representation is contingency fee, which means you pay nothing unless we win, and we are available around the clock. Our team handles cases in English, Farsi, and Spanish so every client in our community can be heard clearly.
We treat bicycle cases with the same seriousness as catastrophic vehicle crashes, because the injuries are often just as severe. We send preservation letters fast, we investigate the road, the driver, and the surrounding businesses, and we are prepared to take a case to a Harris County jury when an insurer refuses to pay what your injuries are worth.
If you or someone you love was hit while riding in Houston, call Mehdipour & Mehdipour at (346) 649-9495 for a free, confidential case review. You can also reach us through our contact page. There is no fee unless we recover for you, and the sooner we start, the more evidence we can preserve.
We serve cyclists across the Greater Houston area, including the Galleria, Memorial, Montrose, the Heights, Sugar Land, Katy, Pearland, and The Woodlands. Our practice areas page has more information on the full range of injury cases we handle.
Two years from the date of the crash under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003. Claims involving a government vehicle or roadway can have notice deadlines as short as six months.
Texas has no statewide adult helmet law, and not wearing one does not bar your claim. An insurer may argue it increased your injuries, but an experienced Houston bicycle accident attorney can push back on that argument.
Often yes. Uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy frequently applies to hit and run bicycle crashes, even though you were not in a car. We can review your policy at no cost.
Nothing upfront. Mehdipour & Mehdipour work on a contingency fee. You pay only if we recover compensation for you, and your initial consultation is always free.