I was recently injured in a Prince George’s County bike accident, but no other cars or people were involved. Can I still collect compensation for my damages?

As drivers, we all know that we can still be injured in a car accident, even if there are no other cars involved. In these accidents, while it may be harder to collect damages based on another party’s negligence, it is also possible that your accident was not your fault. While slick, wintery driving conditions and issues of excessive speeds will be attributed to your own negligence if an accident occurs, other factors such as unsafe road conditions — like potholes and debris — are the responsibility of the local or state government.

The same holds true for bicycle accidents. While some hazards exist on the road that threaten only bicyclists (not necessarily larger vehicles), these hazards remain the responsibility of the town, county, or state government. Storm grates and excessively poor pavement conditions that cause you to become injured while exercising reasonable caution are cause to seek out compensation from the party responsible for maintaining that area of the road.

Another cause of bicycle accidents that do not involve cars is a defective product on the bicycle itself. While this is far less common, if the cause of your Washington, D.C.-area biking accident was a faulty set of brakes or tires on your bike, you are entitled to compensation, just as if the vehicle in question was your car.

Just because another car did not plow you down as you rode does not mean that someone else is not to blame for your injuries. If you feel as though your D.C. bicycle accident injuries were caused by another party’s negligence, call the Virginia and Maryland bike accident lawyers at Lewis & Tompkins today at 202-296-0666 to discuss your case.