Houma Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Were you injured in a bicycle accident in Houma, LA?

At Kiefer & Kiefer, we are dedicated bicycle accident lawyers grounded in decades of plaintiff-side trial work.

If a motorist struck you while you were riding, an attorney can pursue the compensation Louisiana law allows for your injuries. Cyclists start these claims with an investigating officer’s conclusion already written into the file, and that conclusion is wrong more often than most people expect.

A Houma, LA bicycle accident lawyer at Kiefer & Kiefer examines the roadway, the driver’s conduct, and the report itself, then documents what the injuries will cost. Our firm has handled these claims in Terrebonne Parish for more than four decades. The consultation is free and our fee is contingent.

Bicycle Accident Lawyer Houma, LA

Louisiana recorded 44 bicycle fatalities and 810 bicycle injuries in 2024, and roughly 18 percent of those deaths involved alcohol, according to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. Terrebonne Parish presents its own problems. Bayou-side roads carry traffic with no shoulder to speak of, shell and gravel edges drop away from the pavement, and narrow bridge crossings over the bayous leave a rider nowhere at all to go.

A bicycle accident claim is a civil demand against the driver whose negligence caused the collision. It requires the same proof as any injury case. What it also requires, almost every time, is correcting a record built on the assumption that the cyclist did something wrong.

Types of Bicycle Accident Cases We Handle in Houma

Most riders are hurt by a driver who misjudged a gap, a turn, or a passing distance. Each of those errors leaves different evidence behind, and the difference matters because these cases are usually won on the physical record rather than on testimony.

• Unsafe passing crashes. A motorist who crowds a cyclist while overtaking is a frequent cause of serious injury. We handled a case where an officer found our client at fault, and we reversed that finding by showing the driver had not given the clearance the law requires.
• Right hook collisions. A driver passes a rider and then turns across the bike lane or shoulder directly into their path. Vehicle position at impact and the turn signal record usually settle these, along with whether the driver ever checked a mirror.
• Left cross collisions. A motorist turning left misjudges the speed of an oncoming bicycle, often because riders are harder to range than cars. Sight line photographs taken from the driver’s position carry real weight.
• Dooring accidents. A door opened into a rider’s line gives no time to react. Occupants of parked vehicles owe a duty to look, and the injuries are severe despite the low speeds involved.
• Rear-end and overtaking crashes. A rider struck from behind on an open road absorbs the full force. Lighting conditions, reflective equipment, and the driver’s stated point of first observation all become issues.
• Road surface and hazard crashes. Potholes, utility cuts, drainage grates, and shell shoulders can bring a bike down with no vehicle involved. Responsibility turns on who maintained the surface and what they knew.
• Hit-and-run crashes. When a driver leaves, recovery usually runs through uninsured motorist coverage on your policy or a household member’s. Notice requirements are strict, and your own insurer will investigate the claim the way a liability carrier would.
• Truck accidents. A cyclist struck by a commercial vehicle faces blind spots and stopping distances that leave almost no margin. Carriers send investigators to the scene within hours, and our attorneys spent years on that side of these cases.
• Amazon truck accidents. Delivery vans stop constantly and back up in residential streets where people ride. Contractor arrangements can obscure which company carries the policy.
• FedEx truck accidents. Delivery is frequently handled by contracted service providers, and identifying the right one comes before anything else.

Why Choose Kiefer & Kiefer as my Bicycle Accident Lawyer in Houma, LA?

The Rules of the Road That Apply to Cyclists 

Separate rules apply to bicyclists, and drivers, truck operators, and officers regularly do not know them. That gap is why so many claims arrive with fault already assigned to the rider. In a recent matter we represented a cyclist killed when a motorist tried to pass him. The officer found the cyclist at fault. We traversed the report, established that the driver had not given the required passing clearance, and resolved the case for all available insurance. Nat G. Kiefer, Jr. took his law degree with honors from Tulane University Law School and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Megan Kiefer teaches trial advocacy at Tulane. When you hire our personal injury lawyer in Houma, LA, you retain an attorney with the requisite knowledge and experience to fight for the compensation you deserve.

Results in Injury Claims

Kiefer & Kiefer has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients. Outcomes include:

• $390,000 for a collision treated with spinal injections
• $350,000 for a rear-end crash causing back injury
• $315,000 for neck and back injuries treated with injections
• $270,000, the full policy limits, for a back injury treated with ablation

Understanding Bicycle Accident Cases

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Bicycle Accident Cases

Civil Code Article 2315 obligates a person whose fault causes damage to repair it. A rider has no structure absorbing impact, so these claims tend to reach:

• Emergency surgery, orthopedic repair, and rehabilitation
• Head and brain injury with lasting cognitive harm
• Wages lost and earning capacity reduced for good
• Pain, mental anguish, and lost enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability, scarring, and disfigurement
• Loss of consortium belonging to a spouse or child

Determining who is at fault is where these claims get decided. Fault is apportioned among all contributors. Under Article 2323, amended effective January 1, 2026, a claimant assigned 51 percent or more of the fault recovers nothing, and anyone below that line has the award reduced by their share. For cyclists that line sits closer than it should, because the initial report so often points the wrong way. Crashes before that date fall under Louisiana’s former pure comparative fault rule.

What Are Important Aspects of a Bicycle Accident Case?

The crash report is a starting point, not a verdict. Several things determine whether it can be corrected:

• Measurements and photographs of the roadway before repairs
• The bicycle and any damaged equipment preserved, not discarded
• Independent witnesses located while recollections stay fresh
• Treatment started immediately and continued without lapse
• Every applicable policy identified, including your own

Where a surface defect contributed, a claim over poor road conditions runs against whoever maintained it rather than against a driver. Among the mistakes to avoid, giving a recorded statement while the report still reads against you does the most damage.

What Is The Bicycle Accident Case Timeline?

Correcting a fault finding takes time, and severe injuries take longer. Article 3493.1 allows two years from the date of injury to file suit on causes of action arising on or after July 1, 2024. Earlier claims carried one year.

• Independent scene investigation and measurement
• Review and, where warranted, challenge of the crash report
• Treatment continuing until the injury stabilizes
• Demand delivered to each carrier with exposure
• Suit filed where fault remains contested
• Discovery, depositions, mediation, or trial

How insurance companies evaluate a rider claim shifts considerably once the fault finding changes.

What Should You Bring to Your Bicycle Accident Consultation?

Whatever you still have shortens the investigation, though we can obtain most of it.

• The crash report or the agency and report number
• Photographs of the bicycle, the roadway, and your injuries
• The bicycle itself, unrepaired, if you still have it
• Medical bills and treating provider names
• Your auto policy declarations page, which may supply coverage

The review is free. We will tell you whether the report can be challenged, what coverage is available, and what the months ahead involve.

Most Dangerous Locations for Bicycle Accidents in Houma

Louisiana had the second highest bicyclist fatality rate in the country at 0.98 deaths per 100,000 residents, against a national rate of 0.33, according to NHTSA crash data. Locally, the risk follows the roads that carry traffic without giving riders anywhere to be.

Surface streets:

• Bayou Black Drive, a long corridor with minimal shoulder
• Grand Caillou Road, carrying service traffic down the bayou
• Barrow Street, busy and narrow through residential blocks
• Main Street, tight through the downtown core
• Bayou Gardens Boulevard, connecting neighborhoods to retail

Highways and major routes:

• Louisiana Highway 182, an older alignment with shell edges
• Louisiana Highway 24, the principal route through the parish
• Louisiana Highway 311, mixing commuter and industrial traffic
• U.S. Highway 90, high speed with no accommodation for bicycles
• Louisiana Highway 3040, linking residential areas to the highway

Reach Out to Kiefer & Kiefer to Schedule a Consultation

A bicycle accident attorney in Houma can review your claim at no cost to you. No fee is owed unless we recover, and a consultation commits you to nothing. If an officer assigned you fault, that finding can be challenged, and we will tell you honestly whether yours should be. Contact us to arrange a review with a bicycle accident lawyer in Houma, LA.