Bicycle Accident Complaint

BICYCLE ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — ALASKA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count III — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
7. Damages
8. Prayer for Relief
9. Jury Demand
10. Reservation of Rights
11. Signature and Service Blocks
12. Verification
13. Certificate of Service
14. Alaska Practice Notes
15. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF ALASKA

[___] JUDICIAL DISTRICT AT [LOCATION]

CASE NO. [____]-[YYYY]-[________] CI

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (BICYCLE COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiff, for causes of action against Defendants, alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is and at all material times was a resident of [CITY / BOROUGH], Alaska, and at all material times was lawfully operating a bicycle upon the public roadways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an individual residing at [SERVICE ADDRESS], who at all material times operated the subject motor vehicle.

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an individual / a corporation / an LLC] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, and/or maintained the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant. Owner Defendant may be served through its registered agent at [REGISTERED AGENT / ADDRESS].

4. This action arises under Alaska tort law for personal injuries sustained when a motor vehicle struck Plaintiff, a bicyclist, in [CITY / BOROUGH], Alaska, on [__/__/____].

5. Subject-matter jurisdiction is proper in the Superior Court pursuant to AS 22.10.020, as this is a civil action at law and the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold of the District Court (AS 22.15.030).

6. Venue is proper in this judicial district under Alaska R. Civ. P. 3 because the claim arose in this district and/or one or more Defendants resides or may be found in this district.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

7. On [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully operating a bicycle traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY] at or near its intersection with [CROSS STREET / LANDMARK / MILEPOST], in [CITY / BOROUGH], Alaska (the "Collision").

8. Plaintiff was riding in a lawful and prudent manner — [as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable / upon the maintained shoulder / within a marked bicycle lane / lawfully occupying the lane where conditions required] — consistent with 13 AAC 02.400, and, to the extent the Collision occurred during darkness, Plaintiff's bicycle was equipped with a lighted front lamp and rear reflector or lamp.

9. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant.

10. Traffic, lighting, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight].

11. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., overtook and passed Plaintiff's bicycle without leaving a safe distance and sideswiped or struck Plaintiff ("unsafe pass"); turned right across Plaintiff's path of travel ("right hook"); turned left across the path of Plaintiff's oncoming bicycle ("left cross"); opened a parked vehicle's door into Plaintiff's path ("dooring"); failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection; followed Plaintiff's bicycle too closely and struck it from the rear; pulled out from a private drive or side street into Plaintiff's path].

12. Although Plaintiff and Plaintiff's bicycle were plainly visible, Driver Defendant failed to see Plaintiff in time, misjudged Plaintiff's speed, position, and distance, and/or failed to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists lawfully sharing the roadway.

13. Plaintiff had the right-of-way and was operating the bicycle in a lawful, prudent, and careful manner at all material times. At no time did Plaintiff do, or fail to do, anything that proximately caused or contributed to the Collision.

14. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff — an unprotected road user exposed to the full mass and force of a motor vehicle — was thrown from the bicycle and sustained severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., orthopedic fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal injuries, road rash / degloving, and disfiguring scarring].

15. Because a bicyclist has no enclosure, restraint system, or crumple zone, the forces of the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer catastrophic injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by occupants of enclosed vehicles.

16. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

17. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

18. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 17 as if fully set forth herein.

19. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the Alaska Rules of the Road, to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists lawfully sharing the roadway, to overtake and pass a bicyclist only at a safe distance, and to refrain from conduct endangering others.

20. Driver Defendant breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff's plainly visible bicycle;
• Overtaking and passing Plaintiff's bicycle without leaving a safe distance and before being safely clear;
• Turning right across the path of Plaintiff's bicycle ("right hook") when it was unsafe to do so;
• Turning left across the path of Plaintiff's oncoming bicycle ("left cross") when it was unsafe to do so;
• Opening, or causing to be opened, a vehicle door into the path of Plaintiff's bicycle when it was unsafe to do so ("dooring");
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff;
• Following Plaintiff's bicycle more closely than was reasonable and prudent;
• Operating the vehicle at an excessive or unsafe speed for conditions;
• Driving while distracted or inattentive; and
• Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.

21. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was a direct and proximate cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

22. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has sustained the damages described in Section 7 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

23. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 22 as if fully set forth herein.

24. The Alaska Rules of the Road and traffic regulations impose specific duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of persons lawfully using the roadway, including bicyclists such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• 13 AAC 02.385 — every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle, confirming that Plaintiff was a lawful user of the roadway entitled to the protection of the Rules of the Road;
• 13 AAC 02.065 — a driver overtaking another vehicle (including a bicycle) proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left at a safe distance and may not return to the right lane until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle;
• [the applicable Alaska intersection / right-of-way regulation — e.g., 13 AAC 02 governing left turns, intersection right-of-way, stop and yield signs, and entry from a private road or driveway — VERIFY exact section]; and
• [the applicable following-too-closely regulation in 13 AAC 02 — VERIFY exact section].

25. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing regulations were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those regulations were designed to prevent.

26. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], and was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY]. Such violation constitutes negligence per se under Alaska law, and was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. COUNT III — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

27. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 26 as if fully set forth herein.

28. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was an incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, or otherwise unfit driver.

29. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

30. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

7. DAMAGES

31. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, and physician care;
• Future medical and life care — anticipated surgeries, therapy, assistive devices, prosthetics, and long-term or attendant care, to be proven at trial;
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity — past lost income and the permanent impairment of Plaintiff's ability to earn;
• Physical pain, suffering, and mental anguish — past and future;
• Permanent physical impairment and disfigurement, including scarring from road rash and surgical intervention;
• Loss of enjoyment of life; and
• Property damage to the bicycle, cycling gear, helmet, electronics, and personal effects, including loss of use and diminution in value.

32. Plaintiff pleads each category of damage separately and in the alternative.

8. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court enter judgment against Defendants as follows:

• A. Compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the trier of fact, in excess of the jurisdictional threshold of this Court;
• B. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by law;
• C. Costs of suit and attorney's fees as allowed by Alaska R. Civ. P. 79 and 82; and
• D. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

9. JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable, pursuant to Alaska R. Civ. P. 38.

10. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint to add or substitute parties, to assert additional claims (including a claim for punitive damages under AS 09.17.020 upon a showing of the requisite outrageous or reckless conduct), and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

DATED this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____].

[LAW FIRM NAME]

Attorneys for Plaintiff

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

Alaska Bar No. [________]

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

12. VERIFICATION

STATE OF ALASKA

[___] JUDICIAL DISTRICT

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], being first duly sworn, depose and state that I am the Plaintiff in the foregoing action; that I have read the foregoing Complaint; and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this [____] day of [_______________], 20[____].

[________________________________]

Notary Public in and for the State of Alaska

My Commission Expires: [_______________]

13. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____] a true and correct copy of the foregoing COMPLAINT was served (or will be served together with the summons) upon the following by [personal service under Alaska R. Civ. P. 4 / certified mail / process server / the court's electronic filing system]:

[NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) OF DEFENDANT(S) / COUNSEL]

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME / PARALEGAL]

14. ALASKA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal-injury and other tort actions in Alaska must be commenced within two years of accrual. AS 09.10.070. Confirm accrual and any tolling (minority, incapacity, discovery rule) before filing.
• Court and jurisdiction. The Superior Court is the court of general civil jurisdiction (AS 22.10.020); the District Court handles smaller civil matters under AS 22.15.030. File a catastrophic-injury bicycle case in Superior Court. Use the borough/judicial-district caption and the "CI" civil case-number format.
• PURE COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE. Alaska applies pure comparative fault under AS 09.17.060: the plaintiff's recovery is reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's own percentage of fault but is never barred, even if the plaintiff is found more than 50% at fault. Unlike a contributory-negligence or modified-comparative state, a partially at-fault cyclist still recovers a proportionate share. Fault is allocated among all parties and persons under AS 09.17.080.
• The cyclist's rights and duties live in the Administrative Code. Alaska's bicycle rules are regulations, not statutes: 13 AAC 02.385 grants the cyclist the rights and duties of a vehicle driver; 13 AAC 02.400 sets the cyclist's own duties (ride as near to the right as practicable; use a maintained shoulder; no more than two abreast; no sidewalk riding in a business district). A violation of the cyclist's own duties is the defense's comparative-fault theory, but it reduces — not bars — recovery. Note AS 28.15.231(b): no license points are assessed for a traffic violation committed on a bicycle.
• Safe passing = "safe distance," not three feet. Alaska has no numeric three-foot passing statute. The applicable rule is the general overtaking-on-the-left regulation, 13 AAC 02.065, which requires the overtaking driver to pass at a safe distance and not return to the right until safely clear. Plead it together with the general duty of reasonable care.
• Negligence per se. Alaska adopts the Restatement approach to negligence per se for violation of a safety statute or regulation (Ferrell v. Baxter, 484 P.2d 250 (Alaska 1971)); identify the precise 13 AAC 02 subsections (right-of-way, left turn, following distance) that match the facts. Verify the current standard.
• Helmet non-use generally inadmissible. Alaska has no statewide bicycle-helmet requirement for adults. Evidence or argument that an adult cyclist was not wearing a helmet is generally inadmissible to establish comparative fault or to reduce damages; move in limine to exclude it. Verify the current Alaska evidentiary rule.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. A bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle may recover under their own automobile UM/UIM coverage — and under the UM/UIM coverage of a resident relative's policy — because cyclists are typically "insureds" for UM/UIM purposes. UM coverage also responds to a hit-and-run / phantom vehicle, subject to prompt-reporting requirements. Identify and notify every applicable policy promptly, preserve the UM/UIM claim, and comply with consent-to-settle / subrogation procedures before resolving the liability claim. Verify the current requirements.
• Damages caps and fees. Alaska caps noneconomic damages under AS 09.17.010 and imposes prevailing-party attorney-fee and cost rules under Alaska R. Civ. P. 79 and 82, and the offer-of-judgment rule under Rule 68 — all of which materially affect litigation strategy and net recovery. Verify current cap figures.
• Service. Service of process is governed by Alaska R. Civ. P. 4 (personal service or, in specified circumstances, certified mail); serve a corporate defendant through its registered agent.

15. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Alaska Statutes (Title 9 — Code of Civil Procedure; Title 22 — Judiciary; Title 28 — Motor Vehicles) — https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp
• AS 09.10.070 (two-year limitations) — https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-9/chapter-10/section-09-10-070/
• AS 09.17.060 (comparative negligence); AS 09.17.010, 09.17.020, 09.17.080 (damages caps, punitive damages, allocation of fault)
• 13 AAC 02.385 (applicability of regulations to bicycles) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/alaska/13-AAC-02.385
• 13 AAC 02.400 (riding bicycles on roadways and bicycle paths) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/alaska/13-AAC-02.400
• 13 AAC 02.065 (overtaking on the left — safe distance) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/alaska/13-AAC-02.065
• Alaska Department of Transportation, Alaska Bicycle Laws summary — https://dot.alaska.gov/stwdplng/hwysafety/assets/BikeandSafetyManual/Alaska_Laws.pdf
• Ferrell v. Baxter, 484 P.2d 250 (Alaska 1971) (negligence per se for regulatory violation)
• Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 3, 4, 8, 38, 68, 79, 82)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Alaska must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.