For many children in Albuquerque a bicycle is a prized possession. Sadly, children are often the victims of bicycle accidents involving motor vehicles. Many of these accidents could have been avoided if the motorists had exercised more caution while driving.
In determining liability in a legal action stemming from a bicycle accident involving a child, the court generally considers two factors. The first of these factors is the motorist’s duty to be more careful when driving in close proximity to children on bicycles. The motorist’s obligation to exercise care increases when young children are present. The other factor is New Mexico’s law of comparative negligence, which provides that an injured party’s recovery may be reduced or even barred altogether if the injured party was partly at fault in causing the accident.
However, for bicycle accidents involving children, a lower standard of comparative negligence is applied to the child’s behavior as compared to the standard applied to adults. A child is generally held to the standard of care of a reasonable child of the same age and maturity.
In order to ensure that a child’s legal rights are protected, parents of an injured child may want to retain an experienced personal injury attorney. The attorney will seek to establish in court a motorist’s negligence and legal responsibility for the accident, and to recover fair monetary compensation for the injuries sustained. After all, an injury to a child can often have severe consequences for both the child and his or her parents.
Source: FindLaw.com, “Child Bicycle Accident Liability,” Accessed on July 2, 2015