The greater Los Angeles area and Southern California in general is a great place for children to ride a bicycle, especially in the summer months when school is not in session.
However, a recent study, which was reported in local news outlets, highlighted the huge problem both California and the rest of the country have with bicycle safety, particularly with respect to minor children who tend to use their bicycles as their primary means of transportation.
The study found that between 2006 and 2015, 2.2 million children between 5 and 17 had to make a trip to the emergency room because of a bicycle accident. This means that every day, over 600 kids are going to the hospital because of bicycle accidents.
Of these injuries, almost 50 percent involved tweens and children in their early teens, that is, those who need to get around more than younger children but who are too young to drive. While not all of the total injuries reported were significant enough to be life-altering, over 10 percent of them involved a traumatic brain injury.
Granted, not all of these injuries were the fault of a passing motorist or other person. Still, many accidents happen because the driver of a car is not watching out for bicyclists or is not giving a bicyclist on the road the respect he or she deserves.
If another motorist who is not paying attention or is driving carelessly hits a young bicyclist, then the victim or the victim’s family, as the case may be, will have legal options available to them. One of these options is filing a claim for damages against the negligent driver in order to recover financial compensation for the family’s losses.
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