No one expects to get hit by a car while going for a bicycle ride, but these incidents happen every day in Montana. One minute you’re riding your bicycle and enjoying the cool, winter air, and the next minute your at the hospital recovering from injuries following a serious bicycle versus car accident.
One such accident recently hospitalized a bicyclist in Billings due to serious injuries. At a little before 8 p.m. last Sunday night, a motor vehicle struck a bicyclist. According to the police officers who tended to the accident scene, the bicyclist suffered head injuries, in addition to injuries to his hip and left shoulder.
Officers say that they are not sure who was at fault for the collision at this time, and authorities are still investigating what happened in the collision and why it occurred. What authorities have revealed about the accident, however, is that they suspect drugs and alcohol may have been factors in the accident.
Montana motor vehicle drivers have a duty to keep an eye out for bicyclists in order to prevent potentially fatal collisions. At the same time, bicyclists are bound to follow the same rules of the road as motorists. It’s therefore important for police investigators to look at a number of factors in every bicycle crash to determine who was at fault and potentially liable for the incident.
In this bicycle accident case, if officers show that the motorist was at fault, the injured cyclist may be able to pursue a personal injury claim to seek financial compensation for medical costs and other damages stemming from his injuries.
Source: abcfoxmontana.com, “Bicyclist hospitalized after vehicle vs. bicyclist crash,” Jan. 09, 2018