I am going to the well of knowledge to see if someone here has any good/legal advice for me.

Here is the situation. My son, who attends the university, was riding his bike on a sidewalk. A university owned truck stopped at the stop sign to his left. He rode his bike into the intersection in front of the stopped truck to cross to the sidewalk on the other side of the road when the truck pulled forward, striking him and his bike. The driver said he was looking for cars and did not see him.

Most importantly, my son only sustained bruises and scratches. His bike was significantly damaged. The police came out and completed an accident report and indicated that both contributed to the accident. My son for riding on the sidewalk and the driver for not seeing him riding his bike across the crosswalk.

We have contacted the university's Risk Management department and they are going to send it up to their "general council." Attorneys I guess. We aren't the suing types and are not looking to get paid. We haven't contacted an attorney, nor do we plan to do so. We haven't made any demands, but at a minimum, we are hoping that they will pay to replace his bike, which was a nice mountain bike.

Question: Is he hosed because of offsetting penalties, or is there a legal president that puts the majority of the burden on the driver/university? Are they legally responsible to make him whole?

Thoughts?

Thank you for your help guys![b][/b][u][/u]

Did the son have a stop sign and if so, did he stop?

If the accident report concluded both were at fault, you'll spend more time and money trying to get a new bike than just buying a new one. Lick you wounds and move on.

^ This...po po indicated both at fault.

Even with both drivers (driver/rider) being identified as equally contributing to the accident, Texas law says if a person is 50% or less responsible for the accident, they can sue for excess damages - however, any judgement is offset by the percentage of responsibility (if 51% responsible, you lose, period). e.g. If the university truck damages was worth $1000.00 and the bike damages was worth $2000.00 you could sue for $1000.00. The police report appears to indicate equal responsibility so you might as well tell your son this is the result of his actions and prepare to pay his own bill.

How much are we talking about?

The university lawyers might be happy to pay a few coins just for him to sign a release of liability.

See as cyclist have the same rights to the road and therefore must must obey all traffic laws as well I would say he is lucky they stated 50/50 fault. Also have to wonder why the vehicle/university would be at more fault for just being bigger.

I would think the university would be happy to buy a bike and be done with it.

I don’t see why they should pay for the bike.

Oh I agree, but it would amaze you how much money cities, counties, utility providers throw at people just to make things easier.

Brush it off and go. Tell your all growed up son not to ride his bike on the sidewalk. He contributed to getting hit by a truck and, frankly, that ain’t real smart. Give a prayer of thanks for his actions which could have resulted in far more than bumps and bruises.

Daddy would never have turned this into no risk management department. He’d want as few people to know as possible.

You would hope they do not pursue you for damage to the truck.

Sometimes life's lessons are painful and costly. Just move on.

Tell your son,,, next time ,,, Hit the ground like a chicken with His head wacked off even if at fault. Heck, look at the Millions Abbott made off a God built tree falling on Him on a Public Sidewalk..

Good info right here

https://bicycleer.com/are-you-supposed-to-walk-your-bike-across-a-crosswalk/

Why should they replace the bike? Both parties may have been at fault, but from what you posted it seems like your son has 90% of the fault. I’m getting the impression that the driver stopped, checked both directions, and then pulled away at the exact moment your son zipped across his path, leaving no time to react. Whereas, if it was a pedestrian, he would’ve been able to hit the brakes in time. Was it at night and he wasn’t using a light etc.? Was your son drinking prior?

I know as parents, the tendency is to assume our kids never do stupid things and tell the full truth, but it’s very likely your son was being stupid in this case. Let it be a lesson and move on.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I think riding on the sidewalk is safer than those idiot bike lanes that impede traffic and take up way too much space. No offense meant to those that ride wearing spandex.
Fwiw, he should have stopped regardless.

Police reports are not always accurate, nor are they the be-all, end-all of accident settlements. Under the circumstances you describe, it's very reasonable to say "hey, replace the bike with a new one (same type/make/model) and we'll waive any further claims".

From what you describe, I'm assuming that personal injuries were negligble?

Id chalk it up to lesson learned and contact the bike manufacturer to see if they’ll do a crash replacement. They used to do that and you could get a brand new bike for cheap.

I don’t, either.

Me either.

In terms of hassle and time, unless it was a very expensive bike your best bet is probably to just look on Craigslist for a replacement bike.

Thank you all for your responses.

Based upon the responses, it sounds like it is a lesson learned situation. My son shouldn't have been riding on the sidewalk and should have made sure he made eye contact with the truck driver. The truck driver should have looked for pedestrians and others before he proceeded into the intersection.

Off setting penalties.

Have a great week.

All I'm gonna say is this...there are cameras all over that campus, I can guarantee it...that incident was caught on camera by one of them and that will give you the answers you seek.

Very true. I was in an accident and the officer that wrote the report was wrong on several accounts in his assessment of the accident.

At any rate, I'd definitely ask for a new bike. The truck hit him, not vice versa. This is the reason why... "The driver said he was looking for cars and did not see him.". Driver is 100% at fault, IMO, unless it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk on campus, which is doubtful.