Bicycle Accident Complaint - West Virginia

BICYCLE ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — WEST VIRGINIA

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 Based on Traffic Statute Violation (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. Service Addresses
13. West Virginia Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA

CIVIL ACTION NO. [________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (BICYCLE COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Filing note: Submit the completed Supreme Court-prescribed civil case information statement with this complaint under Rule 8(a)(3), W. Va. R. Civ. P.

Plaintiff, by counsel, complaining of Defendants, alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an adult resident of [COUNTY] County, West Virginia, and at all material times was lawfully operating a bicycle upon the public roads 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 Rule 4, W. Va. R. Civ. P.

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 West Virginia tort law for personal injuries and property damage sustained when a motor vehicle struck Plaintiff, a bicyclist, in [COUNTY] County, West Virginia, on [__/__/____].

5. Subject-matter jurisdiction is proper in this Circuit Court pursuant to W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 6 and W. Va. Code § 51-2-2, as the claims sound in tort and the amount in controversy exceeds this Court's jurisdictional minimum.

6. Venue is proper in this county under W. Va. Code § 56-1-1 [SELECT SUBSECTION] because [FACTS SATISFYING THAT ROUTE]. Use “does business” only within subsection (a)(2)'s corporate-entity conditions, and complete subsection (c)'s plaintiff-by-plaintiff screening.

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], West Virginia (the "Collision").

8. Plaintiff was riding [DESCRIBE LANE POSITION AND FACTS SUPPORTING IT UNDER W. VA. CODE § 17C-11-5]. If the Collision occurred at night, the bicycle had [DESCRIBE FRONT LAMP AND REAR REFLECTOR UNDER § 17C-11-7].

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 [DESCRIBE THE ACTUAL MOVEMENT, ROAD POSITION, SIGNALS, RIGHT-OF-WAY, AND POINT OF IMPACT].

12. Plaintiff's bicycle was visible under [DESCRIBE VISIBILITY FACTS]. Driver Defendant [DESCRIBE OBSERVATION OR FAILURE TO KEEP A LOOKOUT SUPPORTED BY THE EVIDENCE].

13. Plaintiff [DESCRIBE RIGHT-OF-WAY AND OWN CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY THE FACTS]. Plaintiff denies fault that proximately caused the Collision.

14. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff sustained [LIST DOCUMENTED INJURIES AND THEIR EFFECTS].

15. Plaintiff's injuries have caused [DESCRIBE PAIN, LIMITATIONS, AND ANY PROVEN PERMANENT EFFECTS].

16. Plaintiff received [DESCRIBE ACTUAL TREATMENT] from [PROVIDER(S)]. Future care, if medically supported, is [DESCRIBE EXPECTED 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 operating the motor vehicle and to obey the applicable West Virginia rules of the road.

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

• ☐ Failing to keep a proper lookout, as shown by [FACTS];
• ☐ Passing within three feet of Plaintiff's bicycle or failing to pass at a careful and reduced speed under § 17C-7-3(a)(2), as shown by [FACTS];
• ☐ Turning across Plaintiff's path or failing to yield where required, as shown by [FACTS AND APPLICABLE SECTION];
• ☐ Following Plaintiff's bicycle at an unsafe distance under the circumstances, as shown by [FACTS];
• ☐ Driving at an unsafe speed, distracted, or without proper control, as shown by [FACTS];
• ☐ Other breach: [DESCRIBE CONDUCT AND SUPPORTING FACTS].

21. Each selected act or omission, separately or in combination as supported by the facts, 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 BASED ON TRAFFIC STATUTE VIOLATION (Against Defendant Driver)

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

24. The West Virginia rules of the road impose specific statutory 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:

• W. Va. Code § 17C-11-2 — grants a bicyclist vehicle-driver rights and imposes corresponding duties on the bicyclist, subject to statutory exceptions; this provision does not itself create a separate duty for Driver Defendant;
• W. Va. Code § 17C-7-3(a)(2) — a driver overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left of the bicycle at a distance of not less than three feet, at a careful and reduced speed, and may not return to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle;
• W. Va. Code § 17C-9-2 — a driver within an intersection intending to turn left shall yield to opposing vehicles within the intersection or so close as to present an immediate hazard;
• W. Va. Code § 17C-9-1 — a driver approaching an intersection shall yield to a vehicle already entered from a different highway; when two vehicles enter from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver on the left shall yield to the vehicle on the right, subject to this article's exceptions;
• W. Va. Code § 17C-9-3 — a driver entering a through highway or stop intersection shall stop and yield the right-of-way to vehicles on the through highway or approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard;
• W. Va. Code § 17C-7-1 — duties governing driving on the right side of the roadway.

25. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the applicable driver-duty statute was enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm it was designed to prevent. A violation of a motor vehicle statute is prima facie evidence of negligence; causation and injury must still be proved. Shaffer v. Acme Limestone Co., 206 W. Va. 333, 524 S.E.2d 688 (1999).

26. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC APPLICABLE DRIVER-DUTY SECTION(S) AND FACTS]. Traffic citation, if issued: [IDENTIFY OR STATE NONE]. The identified conduct 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. If Owner Defendant entrusted the vehicle to Driver Defendant, Owner Defendant knew, or from the circumstances should have known, that Driver Defendant was incompetent or unfit to drive; [STATE FACTS SHOWING KNOWLEDGE AND UNFITNESS]. That unfitness proximately caused the Collision. Clark v. Shores, 201 W. Va. 636, 499 S.E.2d 858 (1997).

29. Alternatively, if Owner Defendant was Driver Defendant's principal or employer, Driver Defendant was acting within the scope of that relationship at the time of the Collision; [STATE AGENCY AND SCOPE FACTS]. Owner Defendant is then liable for Driver Defendant's tort under respondeat superior. Barath v. Performance Trucking Co., 188 W. Va. 367, 424 S.E.2d 602 (1992). Ownership alone does not establish this alternative.

30. The negligent entrustment alleged in Paragraph 28, if proven, and Driver Defendant's negligent driving, if attributable to Owner Defendant under Paragraph 29, caused 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 and care expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, physician, assistive-device, and attendant care supported by proof;
• 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 from a proven permanent injury, as part of general damages without an economic valuation; and
• Property damage to the bicycle, cycling gear, helmet, electronics, and personal effects, including loss of use and diminution in value.

32. Plaintiff seeks each proven category without duplicating amounts between care expenses or components of general damages. Wilt v. Buracker, No. 21708 (W. Va. Dec. 13, 1993).

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, in excess of this Court's jurisdictional minimum;
• B. Prejudgment interest on eligible special or liquidated damages, subject to the court's determination after settlements, and postjudgment interest as allowed by W. Va. Code § 56-6-31;
• C. Costs of this action; and
• D. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

9. JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues so triable as a matter of right, pursuant to Rule 38, W. Va. R. Civ. P.

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 fault on Plaintiff's part and reserves all rights regarding the allocation of fault among all persons under W. Va. Code § 55-7-13a et seq.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Respectfully submitted this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____].

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME] (WV State Bar No. [________])

[LAW FIRM NAME]

Attorney for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

12. SERVICE ADDRESSES

Submit a summons and complaint for service under Rule 4, W. Va. R. Civ. P., on each defendant at the following address. Complete proof of service after service occurs.

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

13. WEST VIRGINIA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Where no more specific period applies, an action for personal-injury damages must be commenced within two years after accrual. W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b). Wrongful-death actions carry a separate two-year period after death under § 55-7-6(d); use a different complaint in that event. Check any applicable tolling, immunity, and defendant-specific deadline.
• Comparative fault. Under W. Va. Code §§ 55-7-13a and 55-7-13c(c), fault is allocated in proportion to each responsible person's share, including the plaintiff; recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's share and barred only if that share exceeds the combined fault of all others. Liability is generally several under § 55-7-13c(a), with its conscious-conspiracy exception and the impaired-driving, criminal-conduct, and hazardous-waste exceptions in subsection (h).
• Nonparty fault. W. Va. Code § 55-7-13d(a)(2) permits consideration of a nonparty's fault if the plaintiff settled with that nonparty or a defending party gives notice within 180 days after service identifying the nonparty and the basis for allocation.
• Cyclist's rights and duties. W. Va. Code § 17C-11-2 grants a bicyclist all the rights and subjects the bicyclist to all the duties of a vehicle driver. Section 17C-11-5 governs lane position (ride as near the right as practicable, with enumerated exceptions permitting full-lane use, including a substandard-width lane), and § 17C-11-7 requires a front lamp visible 500 feet and a rear reflector at night. A violation of these duties supplies the defense's comparative-fault theory; investigate lane position, conspicuity, lighting, and signal phase.
• Three-foot safe passing. W. Va. Code § 17C-7-3(a)(2) requires an overtaking driver to pass to the left at least three feet from a bicycle at a careful and reduced speed. Plead this duty only if the driver overtook a bicycle traveling in the same direction. Under Shaffer, a violation of a motor vehicle statute is prima facie evidence of negligence, with causation still required.
• Following distance. Section 17C-7-10(a) concerns a motorist following another "vehicle," while § 17C-1-2 excludes human powered devices from that term. Plead an unsafe distance behind a bicycle as ordinary negligence under the circumstances, without asserting a § 17C-7-10 violation.
• Helmet evidence. W. Va. Code § 17C-11A-4 requires helmets for riders under 15; § 17C-11A-6 makes a violation of that requirement inadmissible as evidence of negligence or comparative negligence and in mitigation of damages. These sections do not themselves decide admissibility of adult helmet nonuse; assess that issue under applicable evidence law and the injury facts.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. Check whether the bicyclist qualifies as an insured under an applicable policy and W. Va. Code § 33-6-31(c). An unknown-driver claim must meet § 33-6-31(e)'s police-report and carrier-notice conditions, and the vehicle-inspection condition when it applies. The statute generally requires physical contact, but Hamric v. Doe, as quoted in Walker v. Doe, recognizes a narrow exception when independent third-party evidence shows immediate evasive action avoided contact that otherwise would have occurred. Identify and notify any applicable carrier and follow the policy and statutory settlement and subrogation procedures.
• Service and filing. Serve a summons with the complaint under Rule 4, W. Va. R. Civ. P., and file the civil case information statement required by Rule 8(a)(3). For an eligible nonresident driver, review the service route in W. Va. Code § 56-3-31; for other nonresidents, review § 56-3-33.
• Interest. W. Va. Code § 56-6-31(b) permits the court to award prejudgment interest on eligible special or liquidated damages after settlements; it does not automatically apply to all general damages.

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• West Virginia Code (Chapter 17C — Traffic Regulations; Chapter 55 — Actions, Suits and Arbitration) — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/
• W. Va. Code § 55-2-12 (limitations) — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/55-2-12/
• W. Va. Code § 55-7-13a to § 55-7-13d (comparative fault) — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/55-7-13A/
• W. Va. Code § 17C-7-3 (overtaking and passing; three-foot bicycle passing at (a)(2)) — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-7-3/
• W. Va. Code § 17C-11-2 (traffic laws apply to bicycles); § 17C-11-5 (riding on roadways); § 17C-11-7 (lamps and equipment)
• W. Va. Code §§ 17C-9-1 to 17C-9-3 (right-of-way); § 17C-7-1 (right side of roadway); § 17C-1-2 (vehicle definition)
• W. Va. Code § 17C-11A-4 (youth bicycle-helmet requirement — riders under 15)
• W. Va. Code § 33-6-31 (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage)
• West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 4, 8, 38)

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