Accidents Involving a Motor Vehicle (Hit and Run)

When submitting a lead as a bicycle accident under personal injury, it is important to correctly identify the circumstances of the incident. A lead should be submitted under this category when the person involved was riding a bicycle or similar vehicle and was hit by a motor vehicle, especially in hit-and-run cases where the driver of the vehicle is not identified.

What Do We Consider as Bicycles?

For the purposes of submitting leads, the following are considered as bicycles or similar vehicles:

- Traditional Bicycles – Pedal-powered bicycles without any motor assistance.

- E-Bikes – Electric bikes that provide pedal assistance but do not require auto insurance.

- Kick Scooters – Foot-powered scooters, typically used for short commutes.

- Electric Scooters – Battery-powered scooters that do not require auto insurance.

- Tricycles – Non-motorized, pedal-powered three-wheeled vehicles.

What do we consider as Identification of the Other Party ?

A lead can only be classified as a hit-and-run if the other party was not properly identified. Proper identification requires an exchange of critical information, such as:

- Name

- Contact Details

- Insurance details

Merely seeing the other party’s face, knowing what kind of vehicle they drove, or having a vague idea of where they might live does not qualify as proper identification. If this detailed information was not exchanged, the lead qualifies as a hit-and-run, provided the victim was on a bicycle or similar vehicle.

When to Submit a lead as a Bicycle Accident

For a lead to be submitted as a bicycle accident under personal injury, both of the following conditions must be met:

1. Hit-and-Run Incident : The accident must have involved a situation where the driver of the other vehicle fled the scene and was not identified.

2. Victim on a Non-Motorized Vehicle : The lead must have been riding a non-motorized vehicle, or a vehicle that does not require auto insurance, at the time of the accident.

Alternatively, submit the lead under a bicycle accident if the lead was involved in a single-bicycle accident caused by a hazard or obstacle directly resulting from another party’s negligence.

However, if the accident was due to negligence at a construction site, the lead should be submitted as a construction accident.

Single Bicycle Accidents

Leads involving single bicycle accidents can also be submitted under bicycle accidents if the accident occurred due to a hazard or obstacle for which another party is directly responsible. Examples include:

- A shopkeeper placing a wire across the street that caused the accident.

- A pothole in an apartment complex driveway.

- Any other hazardous condition on the road directly caused by someone else’s negligence.

In such cases, even though no other vehicle was involved, the lead can still be submitted as a bicycle accident if another party’s actions led to the accident.