Bicycle Accidents matters in Hollister
Riding Conditions Around Hollister
The rolling farmland around Hollister attracts road cyclists who ride the quiet shoulders of SR-25 and SR-156 and the rural county roads winding through San Benito County's agricultural land. Closer to town, residents bike along San Benito Street and neighborhood streets for errands, school, and work. Both settings carry real risks. On the open state routes, commuter cars and produce trucks travel at high speed past cyclists on narrow or nonexistent shoulders, and a driver who drifts or passes too closely can cause a devastating crash.
In town, the danger is often at intersections. Drivers turning right across a bike lane, opening car doors into the path of a rider, or failing to yield when pulling out of a driveway cause many Hollister bicycle collisions. Dawn and dusk are especially hazardous, when low light and glare make cyclists hard to see just as commuter traffic heading to and from Gilroy and Silicon Valley is heaviest.
A Cyclist's Rights on California Roads
In California, a bicycle is a vehicle, and riders have the right to use the road. Drivers must give cyclists a safe passing distance, generally at least three feet, and must yield where required. Despite this, insurance adjusters often blame the cyclist, claiming the rider swerved, ran a sign, or was not visible. Under California's pure comparative negligence rule, you can still recover even if you were partly at fault, with your award reduced by your share of responsibility.
Strong evidence counters these tactics. The firm gathers the police report, witness accounts, and physical evidence, and documents injuries treated at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, which for cyclists often include fractures, joint damage, and traumatic brain injury.
Valuing a Bicycle Injury Claim
No attorney can promise a specific outcome. The value of a Hollister bicycle accident claim depends on the severity and permanence of the injuries, medical and rehabilitation costs, lost income and earning capacity, and the effect on your life, including your ability to ride and work. California does not cap most injury damages. If the driver who hit you had minimum coverage or none, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may apply even though you were on a bicycle.
Deadlines That Protect Your Claim
Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, you generally have two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a public entity may share fault, for example over a hazardous road condition, Government Code section 911.2 usually requires a written claim within six months. Cases that proceed are filed in the San Benito County Superior Court in Hollister, and acting early preserves the evidence your case relies on.
Our attorney
How Mihran M. Ghazaryan helps with bicycle accidents
Mihran M. Ghazaryan documents the bike-specific facts insurers prefer to ignore — door-zone collisions, unsafe passing, and right-hook turns — and counters the reflexive assumption that the cyclist was at fault. He gathers the scene evidence, witness accounts, and medical record that put the claim on solid ground, and handles the insurer directly so you can heal.
Types of bicycle accidents we handle
Door-zone collisions
California Vehicle Code §22517 makes opening a door into traffic the responsibility of the door-opener. We frame these cleanly.
Right-hook and unsafe-merge crashes
Drivers turning across a bike lane without yielding. Lane-position and bike-lane markings are central.
Hit-from-behind crashes
Often the most serious injuries. Visibility analysis and reconstruction matter here as much as in any motor-vehicle case.
Damages
What compensation can cover
Every bicycle accident claim is different, but California law allows injured plaintiffs to seek several categories of damages. We build each one with documentation — medical records, wage statements, expert opinions — so nothing is left on the table.
Medical expenses
Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and the future treatment your providers say you'll need.
Lost wages
Income you lost while recovering — and, where the injury affects your ability to work, diminished future earning capacity.
Pain and suffering
Compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, and the ways the injury has changed how you live day to day.
Property damage
Repair or replacement of your vehicle and other property damaged in the incident.
Out-of-pocket costs
Transportation to appointments, medical equipment, household help, and the other expenses an injury forces on you.
How we work
- 1
Free, no-pressure consultation
We listen first. We answer your questions. There is no fee for the initial conversation — and you decide whether to engage us at the end of it.
- 2
Investigation and evidence preservation
Police reports, scene photos, witness statements, vehicle data, surveillance video, medical records. The earlier we collect, the harder it is for the other side to reshape the story later.
- 3
Treatment, demand, and negotiation
We coordinate with your providers, document the full extent of damages — medical, lost income, pain — and present a demand backed by evidence. We push back firmly when an insurer lowballs.
- 4
Litigation when necessary
Most matters settle. When an insurer refuses to be reasonable, we file. Preparing every case as if it will be tried is what makes the settlement number move.
What to do right away
- Get medical attention — concussion symptoms can take days to appear.
- Photograph the bike's resting position, the lane markings, and the vehicle.
- Save the bike, your helmet, and clothing without cleaning them.
- Identify witnesses; pedestrians and other riders often see what police miss.
- Call us before contacting either insurer.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Deadlines that matter
Most California personal-injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). Miss the window and the court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how strong it is.
Claims against government entities are much shorter — generally a written claim within six months (Government Code §911.2). Crashes involving city vehicles, public buses, or dangerous public-road conditions can fall under this rule.
Exceptions exist in both directions — discovery rules, minors, continuing violations, out-of-state defendants — so don't assume your deadline has passed or that you have time to spare. Call (818) 539-7969 and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.