Advocacy & Safety - Bicycle Accidents and Contributory Negligence

"Alabama is one of only two states in the union that continues to allow defendants to escape any liability pursuant to the doctrine of contributory negligence. In essence what this doctrine states is that if you are the least bit negligent and if your negligence proximately causes the resulting injury, then you are barred from any recovery whatsoever. This can have a devastating effect on an injured party."

The rest of the article can be viewed here: http://birmingham.injuryboard.com/automobile-accidents/bicycle-accidents-and-contributory-negligence.aspx?googleid=255204

Legal to kill people in Alabama as long as they are doing something 'wrong'. So you could easily run someone down who is jaywalking or kill any number of 'lawbreakers'. I won't be going there or buying anything from that backward state in my lifetime.

The post is interesting, but applicalbe only in Alabama. but it points up a bigger issue. Every cyclist should read, understand, and follow the particulars of the bike law in their state.

Fortunately, 48 states use a doctrine of comparative negligence, in which blame percentages are allocated, instead of this knee-jerk all-or-nothing cr@p.

The post is interesting, but applicalbe only in Alabama. but it points up a bigger issue. Every cyclist should read, understand, and follow the particulars of the bike law in their state.

I couldn't agree more. Honestly, after reading the initial post it urged me to find out bike laws in my own state. I found this for Florida: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/Safety/ped_bike/laws/ped_bike_bikeLaws1.shtm

And in more detail:


Comparative Negligence
To help determine any possible resolution, one way that the value of your claims is going to be determined is based on the idea of comparative negligence. In the simplest of terms, how much were you at fault and how much was the fault of the other party.

Comparative Negligence is a partial defense that reduces the amount of damages a plaintiff is entitled to recover in negligence-based claims upon the degree to which the plaintiffs own negligence help to contribute to the cause of damages. When the defense is asserted, in most cases, the jury will decide the degree to which the plaintiff’s negligence verses the combined negligence of all sued defendants contributed to the damages.

Quoted from here: http://www.injuryboard.com/help-center/articles/legal-issues-and-property-owners-liability.aspx

What is the other state?

Wow, I hope Alabama also has the last clear chance doctrine, which does away with the bar of contributory negligence if the tortfeasor had the last clear chance to avoid the accident.

What is the other state?According to Wikipedia, four states and D.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contributory_negligence#Defense) still allow contributory negligence as a complete defense to negligence.

Wow, I hope Alabama also has the last clear chance doctrine, which does away with the bar of contributory negligence if the tortfeasor had the last clear chance to avoid the accident.

Last time I checked, we did. Contributory negligence also doesn't' apply if the tortfeasor acts wantonly (recklessly).