Bicycle Accidents matters in San Mateo
Where San Mateo Cyclists Get Hurt
San Mateo and the wider Peninsula are heavily ridden, with commuters pedaling to the Caltrain station and recreational cyclists climbing into the western hills. That popularity comes with risk wherever bikes and cars share the road. El Camino Real (SR-82) is a fast, multi-lane arterial with bike facilities that disappear and reappear, forcing riders into traffic at exactly the wrong moments. The Crystal Springs and CA-35 Skyline routes draw weekend riders into curving, fast-moving traffic where a single careless pass can be catastrophic. Around Downtown San Mateo, B Street, Delaware Street, and the streets near Central Park and the Bay Meadows development, riders face left-turning and right-turning vehicles and the constant threat of a parked driver flinging open a door.
Dooring is one of the most common and dangerous crashes in a dense city like San Mateo. A driver who opens a door into the path of a cyclist without looking has violated the law, and the rider often suffers fractures, head injuries, or worse from the sudden impact and fall.
California Law Protects Cyclists
Under California law, a bicycle has the same right to the road as a car, and motorists must give riders the space and care the law requires, including a minimum passing distance. The state's three-feet-for-safety rule and the duty to look before opening a door place clear obligations on drivers. When a motorist makes a right hook across a bike lane, fails to yield at an intersection, or doors a rider on B Street or Delaware Street, that negligence is the cause of the crash. Insurers frequently try to blame the cyclist, claiming the rider was not visible or was not in a designated lane. California's pure comparative negligence rule means that even a rider found partly at fault recovers, with the award reduced only by that percentage and never eliminated.
Where a hazardous road surface, a poorly designed bike lane, or a defect on public property contributed, a claim against the responsible public entity may also apply, and that route carries a much shorter deadline.
Deadlines and the San Mateo County Court
Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a dangerous public road or bike-lane condition contributed and a public entity such as the city, county, or Caltrans is responsible, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim within six months. Bicycle injury lawsuits in San Mateo are filed in the San Mateo County Superior Court, with civil matters heard at the Hall of Justice in Redwood City. Seriously injured riders are often treated at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, with major trauma transferred to Stanford. We work on contingency, so there is no upfront cost and no fee unless we recover for you.
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.