Bicycle Accident Lawyer in Long Beach

If a driver hit you on your bike in Long Beach, you may be hurting, missing work and staring at a bike that cannot be ridden. An adjuster may already have called, sounding friendly and asking for a recorded statement. Do not give one yet. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. is a Los Angeles motor-vehicle injury firm, and attorney Moe Abdallah personally handles each Long Beach bike accident case. Maybe a right-hook on Orange Avenue put you on the pavement. Maybe a door swung open in Belmont Shore, or a driver passed too close on PCH. Either way, we start preserving proof right away. Your bike, helmet and clothing are evidence. So are the traffic cameras and phone records. Call (323) 716-1992 any time, day or night. Se habla español. The review is free, and our fee comes only from a recovery.

Why Long Beach cyclists get hurt

The numbers are rough on people on two wheels. The California Office of Traffic Safety's 2022 ranking put Long Beach second among 15 comparable cities for bicyclist victims, with 233 hurt or killed. The Long Beach Post reported that the city logged 53 fatal traffic collisions in 2025, the most in more than a decade. Of those killed, 32 were walking, biking or riding e-scooters. The city set a Vision Zero goal in 2016 to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2026, and the latest figures show how far it still has to go. Common bike crashes involve a turning car that never looked, a driver who passed too tight on a major route like Pacific Coast Highway or Artesia Boulevard, or someone who pulled out of a driveway into your path. Whether you ride in Downtown, Belmont Shore, Naples or Bixby Knolls, a turning car and a bike can end up in the same few feet. The Long Beach Post also reported on a resident pushing for speed humps on Orange Avenue between Seventh Street and Hellman Avenue because drivers speed there.

What California law says about drivers and cyclists

A bicycle rider on a roadway has the same rights as a driver and the same duties (Vehicle Code section 21200). That one rule undercuts a lot of insurer talk. Drivers must also give a passing cyclist at least three feet. Since AB 1909 took effect on January 1, 2023, they must change lanes to pass if another lane is open and it is practical. If three feet is not possible, they must slow down and pass only when it is safe (Vehicle Code section 21760). The fine is higher when the cyclist is hurt. Opening a car door into traffic is its own violation unless it is safe, and the door cannot hang open longer than needed (section 22517). Riders slower than traffic should stay near the right edge. That does not apply when passing, turning left, avoiding hazards, or riding a lane too narrow for a bike and a car side by side (section 21202). Adults are not legally required to wear a helmet. Riders under 18 are (section 21212). We use these rules to show who broke the law.

How the insurer will try to blame the rider

Expect three arguments. You were not far enough right. You came out of nowhere. You were not wearing a helmet. None of them shuts the door on your claim. California follows pure comparative negligence, so your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault but not wiped out (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). Even if a jury put some blame on you, you could still recover the rest. We answer the lane-position claim with the substandard-width lane rule. We answer the sudden-appearance story with video, skid marks, the driver's phone records and independent witnesses. A helmet argument matters most in head-injury claims, and we meet it with medical evidence. The earlier we collect proof, the less room the adjuster has to rewrite what happened. Once you hire Moe, the insurer deals with him, so you do not have to talk to someone paid to find holes in your account.

Road defects, city streets and the six-month claim deadline

Some bike crashes are not only a driver's fault. A pothole, broken pavement, a bad drain grate or a lane that forces a cyclist toward traffic can be a dangerous condition of public property. A city or agency can be liable if the condition was dangerous, it caused your injury, the risk was foreseeable, and the entity created the condition or knew about it in time to fix it (Government Code section 835). These cases run on a tight clock. You must present a written claim to the public entity within six months of the crash (Government Code section 911.2). In Long Beach, claims against the city go to the City Clerk at 411 W. Ocean Blvd., and the city posts a claim form and instructions online. If the claim is rejected in writing, you have six months from that notice to sue (section 945.6). Parents, note that the extra time minors get for private lawsuits does not stretch these government deadlines (Code of Civil Procedure section 352). Pacific Coast Highway is a state route, so a defect there may point to a different owner than a side street. We trace ownership first.

Evidence, the police report and getting treated

Start with medical care. Long Beach has two Level II trauma centers, MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and St. Mary Medical Center at 1050 Linden Ave. Cyclists who hit the ground often suffer broken collarbones, wrist and hip fractures, road rash and head injuries. Keep your discharge papers. Next, get the report. Long Beach Police Department takes release applications by mail at 400 W. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802, with photo ID and a $30 fee, and the department says processing can run to about six months. Ask the responding officer for the report number at the scene. California also requires an SR-1 report to the DMV within 10 days when injuries or more than $1,000 of damage are involved. Photograph the road, your bike, the driver's plate and any skid marks. Do not repair or sell the bike. Footage gets overwritten quickly, so we send preservation letters to nearby businesses and request the driver's phone records through the case process.

When the driver flees, and how Moe runs your bike case

If the driver fled, you may still have uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy. That depends on its terms and how the claim is documented. In one case, Moe recovered a $100,000 policy-limit UM settlement for a woman rear-ended by a driver who left without a police report, after other firms turned her down. Every case is different, and past results do not predict a similar outcome. Insurance limits matter too. California's minimum liability limits since 2025 are $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident, which can fall short of a serious injury. We look for every policy that applies. You pay nothing unless Moe wins. He answers calls and texts himself, moves on video and records in the first days, and waits to settle until your doctors know the full cost of your injuries. If talks go nowhere, we can file suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, whose local courthouse is the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse at 275 Magnolia Ave.

Talk to a Long Beach bicycle accident lawyer

Call (323) 716-1992 for a free, no-obligation case review. You pay nothing unless we win, and we'll handle the insurance companies for you. Learn more about our bicycle accidents representation →

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