Accidental or Wrongful Deaths Involving Bicycles

Wrongful Death Stemming from Bicycle Accidents

Though the number of fatal bicycle accidents has dropped in the last 40 years, cyclists are still twice as likely to be killed on the road as passengers or drivers in a motor vehicle.

In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), with statistics from 1975 through 2012, researchers found that bicycling has steadily increased in the United States, such that it now accounts for one in every 100 trips made daily across the country. Between 2000 and 2012, there was a 60% increase in the number of people who use a bicycle to get to and from work. The group currently most at risk? Not children, but people between 35 and 54, who have seen their mortality rate triple in the last 40 years.

Here are other important statistics governing bicycling accidents in the United States:

• Men have consistently accounted for the vast majority of bicycle-related fatalities, ranging from a low of 79% in 1977 to a high of 90% in 2001. Currently, males are involved in 87% of all cycling deaths, a rate that is six times that of women.
• The evidence indicates that municipalities can take productive action to reduce the fatality rate, including the creation of bicycle lanes, bicycle paths, reduced speed limits and other safety measures.
• The age group that saw the steepest decline in injury and death was children aged 15 or younger. Researchers say that is tied to the fact that that demographic also saw the greatest decline in bicycle use. As of 2012, children under age 15 had a mortality rate of about one-third of all other age groups.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have suffered a personal injury on the job, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.