Call

Blog

Law
02

Blog

DC to End “Contributory Negligence” for Cyclists?

Today, DC votes on whether to end "contributory negligence" for cyclists and pedestrians.

11:30 am UPDATE: Act pulled from today’s Agenda in last minute move.  This means it HAS to come up at the July 12th meeting.  We will be there! 

IMG_1740


Today, the DC Council will vote on the “Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016.”  If passed, the act will end the antiquated legal doctrine of contributory negligence for cyclists, pedestrians and others making their way through the city under their own power.

Contributory negligence is an extremely harsh legal doctrine that can serve to bar recovery for injured parties if they are deemed to be even 1% at fault for the collision that injures them. If that seems unfair, it is.  As a DC bike crash attorney, I know first hand how unjust this doctrine really is.  

There are only four states that still retain contributory negligence. Unfortunately for DC cyclists, two of those states neighbor the district; Maryland and Virginia. The other states are North Carolina and Alabama. The other states apportion damage awards according to the percentage of fault. In some states, you must be 50% or less at fault to recover.

Denial of the injured cyclist’s claim against an at-fault driver based on 1% negligence can be devastating. Medical bills can pile up. The cost of fixing or replacing the bicycle can become cost-prohibitive. A few hundred dollars can upset many household budgets nowadays.

The vulnerable users that the Act seeks to protect are likely to be the most severely injured in a motor vehicle collision as well as those that are less likely to carry insurance that protects them. Whether cyclists, for instance, are choosing to ride for any of its myriad benefits or they are riding out of necessity many may be doing so without the protection of insurance mandated for motor vehicles.

What is interesting and appreciated about the DC Act is that it recognizes the roads’ vulnerable users, as it does not apply to motor vehicles. The council and the people of DC have recognized that the contributory negligence doctrine is particularly harsh to the non-motorized—read; not boxed in a metal cage—users.

This change to the law to protect vulnerable users has been a long time coming: The bill was introduced by Councilmember Mary Cheh in early 2015 after a similar bill introduced the year before was tabled. The Washington Area Bicyclist’s Association (WABA) and other advocacy groups have been advocating for the change for years. Members of the DC Council have worked to get the Act through the legislative channels to keep it mostly intact.

Some other, good elements of the bill have been lost along the way: For example, a “Stop as Yield” provision” was dropped during the markup phase in April 2016.

However, the bill also includes the “last clear chance doctrine” which provides for recovery for a cyclist that is deemed negligent, if the motor vehicle involved had the last clear chance to avoid the collision.

The full council will be voting on a strong bill that will have a great impact on vulnerable road users in the District. If passed and signed by the mayor, the Motor Vehicle Collision Act of 2016 will bring fairness to the claim process for cyclists and pedestrians. It will keep insurance companies from denying claims to injured parties based on an unfair balance of negligence. It will allow cyclists and pedestrians to be fairly compensated for injuries caused by the negligence of others.

This is an extremely important development in the protections for cyclists and other vulnerable users on the roads of DC.  We will update the blog with results from the hearing.

Visit our DC Bicycle Laws page for more information.

Comments

Bike lawyer rides her bike in Charlotte, NC
Ann Groninger Jun 21, 2024

Bike Law lawyer hassled by a driver for riding in the lane. Why, because she was trying to take a left turn!

Read More
E-BIKE LAWS. ARE THEY LEGAL?
Ann Groninger Apr 04, 2024

Love them or hate them, e-bikes continue to rise in popularity. At the same time, lawmakers struggle to keep up with the developing technologies. Every week I get multiple inquiries from people trying to navigate North Carolina’s e-bike laws. If you’re confused, you’re not alone.  We could easily fill a book with all the latest […]

Read More
Ann Groninger Jan 04, 2024

Many of our cycling clients find themselves having to interact with the criminal justice system. Typically, it’s because the driver who hits them (or their family member) is charged with a crime or traffic offense. Occasionally bicyclists themselves are charged with traffic offenses! Every state’s criminal laws are different, but there is a lot of […]

Read More
Bike Crash Road Defect Georgia
Peter Wilborn Jun 14, 2023

We recently shared the story of a trial victory from the State of Texas where a bicyclist was injured due to a defect in a road maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation. Texas Road Defect   We now can tell the story of another huge win in a road defect case, this time from […]

Read More
Road defect dangerous to cyclists
Charlie Thomas Mar 14, 2023

Recently, attorneys with the Bike Law network took a case to a trial against a titan of a defendant: the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT was represented by the Attorney General’s Office, one of Texas’ largest legal teams. We had a great client, but it was a tough case to prove. So tough, in fact, […]

Read More
bike path charlotte
Ann Groninger Jan 13, 2023

  2023 got off to a rough start for Charlotte, North Carolina, particularly in the context of road safety. Within about a week, we lost a young woman who was riding her bicycle, a pedestrian killed in the same area of town, and four people were killed in a car wreck on I-85 in the […]

Read More
North Carolina Bike Crash
Ann Groninger Dec 06, 2022

Unless you’re a very recent follower of ours, you’ve heard us talk before about “contributory negligence.” To recap: “pure contributory negligence” is the law in North Carolina and only 3 other states (Alabama, Virginia, Maryland). In pure contributory negligence states, if a person is injured by someone else’s fault and the injured person contributes even […]

Read More
Is It Illegal to Ride Your Bike on the Sidewalk bikelaw
Peter Wilborn Aug 01, 2022

The laws dictating whether you can ride your bike on the sidewalk differ depending where you live. Different states have different laws on this matter, and local ordinances also vary. Let’s take a look at the legal framework behind various state laws related to cycling on sidewalks. The laws of sidewalk-riding can be very complicated […]

Read More
Ebike crash
Bruce Hagen Apr 26, 2022

DRIVER ON METH KILLS 17 YEAR OLD BICYCLIST, BARROW COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY REFUSES TO CHARGE DRIVER WITH FELONY.   On August 23, 2020, at approximately 8:40pm, 17-year old Obianuju Osuegbu was on her way home from her summer job working at a grocery store. She had earned enough money that summer to buy herself a […]

Read More
Load More