Bicycle Accident Complaint - Wisconsin

BICYCLE ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — WISCONSIN

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. Wisconsin Practice Notes
13. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

STATE OF WISCONSIN — CIRCUIT COURT — [COUNTY] COUNTY

Case No. [________]

Case Code: 30101 (Personal Injury — Auto)

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (BICYCLE COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an adult resident of [COUNTY] County, Wisconsin, and at all material times was lawfully operating a bicycle upon the public highways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an adult resident of [COUNTY / STATE] and may be served with process at [SERVICE ADDRESS] pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 801.11.

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

4. This action arises under Wisconsin tort law for personal injuries and property damage sustained when a motor vehicle struck Plaintiff, a bicyclist, in [COUNTY] County, Wisconsin, on [__/__/____].

5. Subject-matter jurisdiction is proper in this Circuit Court pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 753.03, as the claims sound in tort and are within this Court's jurisdiction.

6. Venue is proper in this county under Wis. Stat. § 801.50 because the cause of action arose in this county and/or one or more Defendants resides or does substantial business herein.

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 / MILE MARKER], in [CITY], Wisconsin (the "Collision").

8. Plaintiff was riding in a lawful and prudent manner — [as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable / within a marked bicycle lane / lawfully occupying the lane where conditions required under Wis. Stat. § 346.80] — and, to the extent the Collision occurred during darkness, Plaintiff's bicycle was equipped with a lighted front lamp and rear reflector/light as required by Wisconsin law.

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 the required three feet of clearance 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 "looked but failed to see" Plaintiff, 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 Wisconsin 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 of not less than three feet, 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 (management and control);
• Overtaking and passing Plaintiff's bicycle without leaving the required safe distance of not less than three feet of clearance;
• 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 Wisconsin rules of the road impose specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of persons lawfully using the highways, including bicyclists such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• Wis. Stat. § 346.02(4)(a) — every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway or shoulder of a highway is granted all the rights and is subject to all the duties applicable to the operator of a vehicle, confirming that Plaintiff was a lawful user of the roadway entitled to the protection of the rules of the road;
• Wis. Stat. § 346.075 — the operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall exercise due care, leaving a safe distance of in no case less than three feet of clearance when passing, and shall maintain that clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle;
• Wis. Stat. § 346.18(2) — a driver within an intersection intending to turn left or make a U-turn shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction;
• Wis. Stat. § 346.18(1) — when two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time, the driver on the left shall yield to the vehicle on the right;
• Wis. Stat. § 346.46 — a driver shall stop at a stop sign and yield the right-of-way to vehicles that have entered or are approaching the intersection;
• Wis. Stat. § 346.94(20) — no person shall open a vehicle door on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so without interfering with the movement of traffic ("dooring");
• Wis. Stat. § 346.14 — a driver shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent; and
• Wis. Stat. § 346.05 — duties governing driving on the right side of the roadway.

25. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes 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 Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin's sponsor/owner provisions and § 343.15 (negligence imputed to a sponsor of a minor licensee), where applicable, may also support owner liability.

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 demands judgment against Defendants as follows:

• A. Compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the trier of fact;
• B. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by law;
• C. Costs and disbursements of this action; and
• D. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

9. JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff demands a trial by a twelve-person jury on all issues so triable, pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 805.01 and 756.06, and tenders the requisite jury fee.

10. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint to add or substitute parties, to assert additional claims, and to conform the pleadings to the evidence as discovery proceeds. Plaintiff denies any comparative negligence on Plaintiff's part.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

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

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME], State Bar No. [________]

[LAW FIRM NAME]

Attorneys for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

12. WISCONSIN PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal-injury actions in Wisconsin must generally be commenced within three years of accrual, including injuries arising from a motor-vehicle collision. Wis. Stat. § 893.54(1m). Note the shorter two-year period for a wrongful-death claim arising from a motor-vehicle accident under § 893.54(2m). Claims against a governmental entity require a notice of claim/injury (see § 893.80); confirm and calendar all deadlines.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE — the central issue. Under Wis. Stat. § 895.045, a plaintiff's contributory negligence does not bar recovery so long as it was "not greater than" the negligence of the person from whom recovery is sought (i.e., 50% or less as to that defendant), with damages reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault. A plaintiff who is 51% or more at fault recovers nothing from that defendant. Jury fault percentages must total 100%. Frame the cyclist's lawful, prudent operation carefully and prepare to contest fault allocation, which is often outcome-determinative.
• Cyclist's rights and duties. Wis. Stat. § 346.02(4)(a) grants a bicyclist riding on a roadway or shoulder all the rights and subjects the bicyclist to all the duties of a vehicle operator (subject to special bicycle provisions). Section 346.80 governs lane position (ride as near the right as practicable, with exceptions, and the two-abreast rule) and § 347.489 governs required lamps/reflectors at night. A violation of cyclist duties supplies the defense's comparative-negligence theory; investigate lane position, conspicuity, lighting, and signal phase.
• Three-foot safe passing. Wisconsin's safe-passing rule is Wis. Stat. § 346.075: the operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle "shall exercise due care, leaving a safe distance, but in no case less than 3 feet clearance when passing," and shall maintain that clearance until safely past. Wisconsin also allows a motorist to cross a center line to pass a bicycle when safe. This is a strong negligence-per-se predicate in a sideswipe/overtaking ("buzz") collision.
• Dooring. Wis. Stat. § 346.94(20) prohibits opening a vehicle door into the path of moving traffic, including bicyclists, when it is unsafe to do so — the predicate for a "dooring" negligence-per-se claim.
• Helmet non-use generally inadmissible. Wisconsin has no bicycle-helmet law (no statewide requirement, even for minors). For all cyclists, evidence or argument that the plaintiff was not wearing a helmet is generally inadmissible to show comparative negligence or to reduce damages; move in limine to exclude it. Verify the current Wisconsin evidentiary framework before relying on it.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. A bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle may recover under their own automobile uninsured/underinsured-motorist (UM/UIM) coverage — and under the UM/UIM coverage of a resident relative's policy — even though the cyclist was not in a vehicle, because cyclists are typically "insureds" for UM/UIM purposes. UM coverage also responds to a hit-and-run / phantom vehicle, subject to prompt-reporting and (where applicable) corroboration requirements. Wisconsin mandates UM coverage and requires UIM to be offered; verify the current statutory requirements (Wis. Stat. § 632.32) and the applicable policies. Promptly identify and notify every applicable policy, preserve the UM/UIM claim, and comply with consent-to-settle / subrogation procedures before resolving the liability claim.
• Service. Service of process is governed by Wis. Stat. §§ 801.11 et seq.; out-of-state defendants may be served under Wisconsin's long-arm statute, Wis. Stat. § 801.05.

13. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Wisconsin Statutes (Chapter 346 — Rules of the Road; Chapter 347 — Equipment; Chapter 893 — Limitations; Chapter 895 — Damages) — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes
• Wis. Stat. § 893.54 (limitations) — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/893
• Wis. Stat. § 895.045 (comparative negligence) — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/895
• Wis. Stat. § 346.075 (overtaking and passing bicycles — three feet) — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/346.075
• Wis. Stat. § 346.02(4)(a) (bicyclist rights and duties) — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/346.02(4)(a)
• Wis. Stat. § 346.80 (riding bicycles on roadways); § 346.94(20) (dooring); § 347.489 (bicycle lamps)
• Wis. Stat. § 346.18 (right-of-way); § 346.46 (stop signs); § 346.14 (following too closely); § 346.05 (right side of roadway)
• Wis. Stat. § 632.32 (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage)
• Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 801, 805 (civil procedure); Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions (WisJI-Civil)

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