St. Joseph Child Bike Injuries: Driver Liability
When a child is hurt in a bike accident, the first instinct is panic — then questions. Was this preventable? Who’s responsible? If the insurance company is already calling to point fingers at your child, take a breath. Missouri law may have a lot more to say about that driver’s responsibility than the adjuster is letting on. As May wraps up and St. Joseph schools release for the summer, the streets change almost overnight. Kids who spent the last nine months in classrooms are suddenly everywhere — on bikes, cutting through neighborhoods, darting between parked cars. That surge is completely normal and predictable. It’s also exactly the kind of environment where a St. Joseph child bike accident will tend to happen.
That’s why the St. Joseph bicycle accident lawyers at Patterson Legal Group have prepared this helpful guide.
The Summer Surge Is Real — and Drivers Know It
Every June, the residential streets of St. Joseph fill with children on bikes. Near school zones, parks, and neighborhood cul-de-sacs, kids are crossing mid-block, riding down sidewalks, and cutting through alleys — in areas where they’re perfectly entitled to be.
Drivers traveling through these areas don’t get to claim surprise. Summer is predictable. Children in residential neighborhoods are predictable. Missouri courts have long recognized that when a driver enters an area where children are known to play, the duty to slow down, stay alert, and anticipate the unexpected goes up, not down. That legal concept has a name: heightened duty of care.
Understanding the True Implications of Missouri Driver Duty of Care
Missouri requires all motorists to maintain a reasonable duty of care while on the road. However, that general standard varies based on context. For example, when a driver is going through a school zone, a residential zone, or an area where there are predictable chances of encountering children, that driver is expected to be more careful, drive at a lower speed, and always ready to stop.
The rationale behind such standards is simple and practical: Children can be unpredictable in their actions. In other words, they tend to be spontaneous, acting in ways adults would not. When a driver knows, or should have known, that they were in such an environment, that individual is supposed to anticipate that danger.
Expect Insurance Companies To Pin The Blame On Your Child
In the event that your child was hit by a car in Missouri, it’s highly likely that the driver’s insurance company will claim that the collision was your child’s fault. They might argue that your child entered the street without looking out for vehicles. That your child crossed the street outside a crosswalk. Or that your child didn’t yield.
That’s their routine strategy. It’s done to decrease or avoid the payment. What the insurance company doesn’t want to explain to you: Even when your child has made a mistake, it doesn’t relieve the driver from liability, as per Missouri law.
Pure Comparative Fault in a St. Joseph Child Bike Accident Case
The state of Missouri adheres to the pure comparative fault rule. Under this principle, fault can be distributed among several parties involved in an accident — and families are entitled to recover compensation even if the child was negligent.
Suppose that the jury decides that the driver was 75% at fault because he was speeding, did not account for the residential neighborhood, and did not brake in time. In addition, the child who rode his bike out from between two parked vehicles is deemed 25% at fault because he did not look before riding.
With the pure comparative fault doctrine, the parents will still be able to claim 75% of the total damages. The percentage of fault attributable to the child diminishes but does not nullify the damages award.
That point is vital since the insurance company knows that it would sound convincing to blame the child when speaking to a layman. An experienced St. Joseph bicycle injury lawyer will know how to turn the tables with regard to the duty of care, the conditions of the street, speed of the vehicle, visibility, and applicable law in the neighborhood.
Damages That May Be Recovered
Recoverable damages may include:
- Emergency medical treatment and hospital stay
- Medical treatments that may be required, including surgery, physiotherapy, follow-up doctor visits
- Any medical devices that are needed, like a cast, brace, or other mobility aids
- The pain and suffering of your child, and in some instances, the family
- Trauma and counseling, if necessary
- Any medical bills for future treatments if the injuries have lasting consequences
Some serious injuries from child bike crashes may include traumatic brain injury, broken bones, spinal injuries, road rash, and internal injuries. Even with a helmet, an impact with a car can result in a permanent injury. These are true damages, and they should be treated as such.
Here to Help after a St. Joseph Child Bike Accident
At Patterson Legal Group, we’re here to offer the information you need about a St. Joseph child bike accident, and we’re ready to help you if your child has been injured in such an accident. Our dedicated team of litigators and trial lawyers has a proven track record of success in securing compensation for those in Missouri, as well as in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. We will fight for you every step of the way.
Get started today with a free consultation by calling us at 888-687-2400 or going online through our secure contact form. You can also connect with our LiveChat representatives.
We work under a “No Win, No Fee” promise, so you won’t pay anything unless we win. Reach out today and take the first step toward getting the money you deserve.
The information on this blog is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as legal advice for an individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship nor does viewing this material constitute an attorney-client relationship.
