Bicycle Accident Compensation in Texas: What Is Recoverable
The categories are the same as any injury claim, plus one cyclists routinely forget: the bicycle, the helmet and the equipment are recoverable property, and they are often worth more than people expect.
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Medical costs, past and future
Past treatment is documented by bills. Future cost has to be established by medical opinion, and cyclists commonly need it: collarbone and wrist fractures frequently require hardware, and hardware frequently requires later removal.
Where a shoulder or wrist does not fully recover, the future includes revision surgery and post-traumatic arthritis, both of which are recoverable but neither of which is on a bill today.
Lost income and lost earning capacity
Lost income is wages actually missed. Lost earning capacity is the reduction in what can be earned going forward, and it is usually the larger element.
A wrist or shoulder injury can close manual trades and fine motor work entirely, even where the person returns to some employment. Establishing that takes medical opinion on restrictions and vocational opinion on what work remains.
Pain, mental anguish, impairment and disfigurement
Four separate categories in Texas. There is no multiplier and no formula that a court applies.
Cyclists accumulate road surface injury, so scarring is common and disfigurement is a real element. Many also lose the ability to ride, which is a genuine impairment whether or not it earned money.
The bicycle, the helmet and the kit
This is the element cyclists most often leave out. A modern road or mountain bicycle can be a substantial asset, and a damaged frame is frequently written off even where it looks intact, because carbon damage is not always visible.
The helmet should be replaced after any impact and is recoverable. So are shoes, pedals, computers, lights, clothing and anything else destroyed. Keep the damaged items and get a replacement valuation rather than guessing.
Out of pocket and substitution costs
Travel to appointments, prescriptions, mobility aids and paid help with tasks the injury prevents. Where the bicycle was a commuting vehicle, the cost of alternative transport while it is replaced is a real loss.
All of it is recoverable to the extent it can be evidenced, which means keeping receipts rather than reconstructing afterwards.
Where the money comes from
The driver's liability policy first. Texas minimums are frequently exhausted by a serious cycling injury.
Then an employer's policy if the driver was working, a vehicle owner's separate policy, an umbrella policy, and the cyclist's own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which generally applies to them while cycling. That last one surprises most cyclists.
Summary
| Category | Covers | Proved by |
|---|---|---|
| Past medical | Treatment to date | Bills and records |
| Future medical | Hardware removal, revision, arthritis | Medical opinion |
| Lost earning capacity | Reduction in future earning | Medical and vocational opinion |
| Pain and mental anguish | Past and future | Specific evidenced consequence |
| Physical impairment | Lost ability, including riding | Treating and lay evidence |
| Disfigurement | Permanent scarring | Photographs over time |
| The bicycle and equipment | Frame, helmet, shoes, computer, clothing | Replacement valuation |
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. The bicycle, helmet, shoes, pedals, computer, lights and clothing are all recoverable property. Keep the damaged items and obtain a replacement valuation, because carbon frame damage in particular is not always visible.
Yes, and the cost is recoverable. Helmets are designed to absorb a single impact, and damage to the internal structure is frequently invisible from the outside.
Often, through uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which generally applies to you while cycling. Most cyclists do not realize this and never check their own policy.
Loss of the ability to ride is a genuine physical impairment, which Texas treats as a category separate from pain and from lost income. It is recoverable whether or not cycling earned you anything.
Talk it through with a lawyer
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