Bicycle Accident Complaint - Wyoming

BICYCLE ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — WYOMING

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. Wyoming Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE [________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT, [COUNTY] COUNTY, WYOMING

CIVIL ACTION NO. [________]

COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES (BICYCLE COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, complaining of Defendants, alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an adult resident of [COUNTY] County, Wyoming, 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 Rule 4, W.R.C.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 Wyoming tort law for personal injuries and property damage sustained when a motor vehicle struck Plaintiff, a bicyclist, in [COUNTY] County, Wyoming, on [__/__/____].

5. Subject-matter jurisdiction is alleged under Wyo. Const. art. 5, § 10, subject to Wyo. Stat. § 5-9-128's exclusive circuit-court jurisdiction and any other statute vesting exclusive jurisdiction elsewhere. Sections 5-2-114 and 5-3-101 do not supply original jurisdiction.

6. Venue is proper in this county under Wyo. Stat. § 1-5-109 because [the cause of action arose here / a Defendant resides here / a Defendant may be summoned here].

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], Wyoming (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 positioned where conditions required under Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-704] — 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 Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-706.

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 maintaining the required three-foot separation 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 Wyoming rules of the road, to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists lawfully sharing the roadway, to overtake and pass a bicyclist only while maintaining at least a three-foot separation, 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 maintaining the required separation of at least three feet;
• 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 Wyoming 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:

• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-702 — a person operating 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;
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-203(c) — a driver overtaking and passing a lawfully operating bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall, when space allows, maintain at least a three-foot separation between the right side of the driver's motor vehicle (including all mirrors and other projections) and the bicycle;
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-221 — a driver intending to turn left shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard;
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-220 — 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;
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-222 — a driver approaching a stop or yield sign shall stop or slow and yield the right-of-way;
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-223 — a driver entering or crossing a roadway from a private road or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to approaching vehicles;
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-210 — a driver shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent; and
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-201 — 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 Wyoming 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. Wyoming's Constitution prohibits statutory caps on recovery for personal injury or death (Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4).

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.R.C.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 actors under Wyo. Stat. § 1-1-109.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

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

/s/ [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME] (Wyo. 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. WYOMING PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Section 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C) gives four years after accrual only for a noncontract injury to rights not otherwise enumerated. Classify each claim and accrual rule, including intentional-tort and governmental-claim provisions, before calendaring.
• MODIFIED COMPARATIVE FAULT — the central issue. Under Wyo. Stat. § 1-1-109, contributory fault does not bar recovery if the claimant's fault is "not more than fifty percent (50%)" of the total fault of all actors; damages are diminished in proportion to the claimant's fault. A claimant whose fault exceeds 50% recovers nothing. Each defendant is severally liable only to the extent of that defendant's proportion of the total fault. The jury determines total damages without regard to the claimant's percentage and is informed of the consequences of its fault allocation. Frame the cyclist's lawful, prudent operation carefully and prepare to contest fault allocation, which is often outcome-determinative.
• Cyclist's rights and duties. Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-702 grants a bicyclist all the rights and subjects the bicyclist to all the duties of a vehicle driver. Section 31-5-704 governs lane position (ride as near the right as practicable; two-abreast limited to a single lane and not impeding traffic) and § 31-5-706 requires a front lamp and rear reflector/light at night; § 31-5-701 lists prohibited acts. A violation of cyclist duties supplies the defense's comparative-fault theory; investigate lane position, conspicuity, lighting, and signal phase.
• Three-foot safe passing. Wyoming's safe-passing rule is Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-203(c) (a subsection of the overtaking statute): a driver overtaking and passing a lawfully operating bicycle "shall, when space allows, maintain at least a three (3) foot separation between the right side of the driver's motor vehicle, including all mirrors and other projections, and the bicycle." Note the "when space allows" qualifier; where space did not allow a safe pass, the driver's duty was to wait — rely on the general duty of reasonable care (Count I) in addition to the per-se theory. Confirm the current subsection text before pleading it.
• Helmet non-use generally inadmissible. Wyoming 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 fault or to reduce damages; move in limine to exclude it. Verify the current Wyoming evidentiary framework before relying on it.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. A bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle may qualify as an insured under their own automobile policy or a resident relative's policy even though the cyclist was not occupying a vehicle. Wyo. Stat. § 31-10-101 mandates bodily-injury UM coverage subject to rejection; it does not mandate UIM coverage. UIM, hit-and-run, prompt-reporting, physical-contact or corroboration, and consent/subrogation requirements depend on the applicable policy. Promptly identify and notify every potentially applicable policy before resolving the liability claim.
• Service. Service of process is governed by Rule 4, W.R.C.P.; out-of-state defendants may be served under Wyoming's long-arm statute, Wyo. Stat. § 5-1-107.

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Wyoming Statutes (Title 1 — Code of Civil Procedure; Title 31 — Motor Vehicles) — https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/
• Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C) (four-year residual category) — https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf
• Wyo. Stat. § 1-1-109 (comparative fault) — https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-1/chapter-1/section-1-1-109/
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-203 (overtaking on the left; three-foot bicycle separation at (c)) — https://codes.findlaw.com/wy/title-31-motor-vehicles/wy-st-sect-31-5-203/
• Wyo. Stat. §§ 31-5-701 to 31-5-707 (bicycles and electric bicycles); § 31-5-702 (rights and duties); § 31-5-704 (riding on roadways); § 31-5-706 (lamps and equipment)
• Wyo. Stat. §§ 31-5-220 to 31-5-223 (right-of-way); § 31-5-210 (following too closely); § 31-5-201 (right side of roadway)
• Wyo. Stat. § 31-10-101 (uninsured-motorist bodily-injury coverage; UIM is contractual)
• Wyoming 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 Wyoming must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.