Bicycle Accident Complaint

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 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. Certificate of Service
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

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. Code § 51-2-2, as the claims sound in tort and the amount in controversy is within this Court's jurisdiction.

6. Venue is proper in this county under W. Va. Code § 56-1-1 because the cause of action arose in this county and/or one or more Defendants resides or does 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], West Virginia (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 W. Va. Code § 17C-11-5] — and, to the extent the Collision occurred during darkness, Plaintiff's bicycle was equipped with a lighted front lamp and rear reflector as required by W. Va. Code § 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 [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., overtook and passed Plaintiff's bicycle without leaving the required three feet 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 West Virginia 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;
• Overtaking and passing Plaintiff's bicycle without leaving the required distance of not less than three feet, and without reducing speed;
• 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 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 — every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway is granted all the rights and is subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, confirming that Plaintiff was a lawful user of the roadway entitled to the protection of the rules of the road;
• 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 the right-of-way to vehicles (including bicycles) approaching from the opposite direction;
• W. Va. Code § 17C-9-1 — when two vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver on the left shall yield to the vehicle on the right;
• 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-7-10 — a driver shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent; and
• 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 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 prima facie negligence (negligence per se) under West Virginia 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 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 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. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this the [____] day of [_______________], 20[____], a copy of the foregoing COMPLAINT was served (or will be served with the summons) upon the following by [process server / certified mail / the Court's electronic filing system]:

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

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

13. WEST VIRGINIA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal-injury actions in West Virginia must be commenced within two years after the claim accrues. W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b). Wrongful-death actions carry their own two-year period under § 55-7-6. If a government entity is involved, a separate notice-of-claim deadline may apply (e.g., the municipal/political-subdivision tort framework under W. Va. Code ch. 29, art. 12A); confirm and calendar all deadlines.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE FAULT — the central issue. Under W. Va. Code § 55-7-13a to § 55-7-13d, fault is allocated in direct proportion to each person's percentage of fault, including the plaintiff and properly noticed nonparties; the plaintiff's recovery is reduced by his or her percentage of fault and is barred entirely if the plaintiff's fault is greater than the combined fault of all other persons (the "51% bar"). Joint and several liability is generally abolished, with exceptions (e.g., conspiracy, certain intentional/criminal conduct, DUI) under § 55-7-13c. Frame the cyclist's lawful, prudent operation carefully and prepare to contest fault allocation, which is often outcome-determinative.
• Nonparty fault. A defendant may seek to assign fault to a nonparty if it gives notice within the statutory period (generally 180 days after being served) under § 55-7-13d; identify all potentially responsible actors early.
• 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 — citation caution. West Virginia's three-foot passing rule is NOT a freestanding § 17C-7-3a; it is W. Va. Code § 17C-7-3(a)(2), a subdivision of the general overtaking statute: a driver overtaking a bicycle "shall pass to the left of the bicycle at a distance of not less than three feet at a careful and reduced speed." A violation is a misdemeanor (escalating fines up to $500). Confirm the current subsection numbering before pleading it as the negligence-per-se predicate.
• Helmet non-use generally inadmissible. West Virginia imposes no statewide adult bicycle-helmet requirement (the helmet mandate in W. Va. Code § 17C-11A-4 applies to riders under 15). For adult cyclists, evidence or argument that the plaintiff was not wearing a helmet is generally inadmissible to show comparative fault or to reduce damages; move in limine to exclude it. Verify the current West Virginia 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) physical-contact or corroboration requirements. 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. West Virginia requires UM coverage and offers UIM; verify the current statutory requirements (W. Va. Code § 33-6-31) and the applicable policies.
• Service. Service of process is governed by Rule 4, W. Va. R. Civ. P.; out-of-state defendants may be served under West Virginia's long-arm provisions, W. Va. Code § 56-3-33.

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-7-10 (following too closely); § 17C-7-1 (right side of roadway)
• 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.