Sixth Deadly Bicycle Accident Tampa

A sixth bicyclist was killed in a car accident in Tampa, Florida occuring this morning.  A woman in her 50's was waiting to cross Himes from the northeast side when a car accident between a gray Lincoln sedan and a Nissan SUV in the outside lane of Himes Avenue caused the NIssan to change its course striking the woman.  The woman has not been identified at the moment.  Police discovered the bike wedged underneath the Nissan.  This accident brings the number of bicyclists killled in Tampa to six in recent memory.

This accident appears to have been the unintended result of an accident between two cars.  This type of case, despite the apparent innocence of the victim, can actually be quite difficult to litigate.  The reason for this is because the driver of the Nissan will say that the accident was the Lincoln's fault and that due to the Lincoln's negligence, her resulting impact with the bicyclist was unavoidable.  The driver of the Lincoln will defend by saying that the driver of the Nissan, despite the LIncoln's negligence, did not have to strike and kill the bicyclist and therefore claim that the chain of causation is broken by negligence of the Nissan driver.  The way to get this case resolved for the victim is to file a lawsuit against both drivers to see where things shake out.  The driver of the Nissan will also likely file a lawsuit against the driver/owner of the Lincoln alleging negligence and/or a cross claim if the bicyclist's family sues first.  Notwithstanding the tragic nature of this accident, Florida law allows for comparative fault or comparative negligence where a jury is asked on a percentage totaling 100% to apportion the fault for the accident.  This can oftentimes be a very tough job for jurors.  Nonetheless, the jurors must arrive at a verdict in order to have a binding judgment on whomever is at fault and at what percentage.  If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a car accident or you lost a loved one to a car accident in the greater Central Florida area, including Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow, Haines City, Davenport, Ft. Meade, or Polk County, Florida, please contact a Lakeland personal injury, car accident, or wrongful death attorney for a free consultation.