St. Lucie Bicycle Accident Attorney
Cyclists are part of everyday life across St. Lucie County. Riders commute along US-1 between Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, pedal toward the beaches on Seaway Drive, and share busy corridors like Okeechobee Road and Midway Road with cars, pickups, and commercial trucks. When a driver fails to look for a rider, the consequences are rarely minor. If you were hurt in a crash, a St. Lucie bicycle accident attorney at Sholtes Law, PLLC can protect your rights, deal with the insurance companies, and pursue the full compensation Florida law allows. Call 855-534-2509 for a complimentary case analysis — you pay no fee unless we recover for you.
Bicycle crashes occur less frequently than other motor vehicle collisions, but the injuries they cause are disproportionately severe. Data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Crash Dashboard for St. Lucie County shows that more than 95 percent of reported bicycle accidents result in at least one injured victim. A cyclist has no steel frame, no airbags, and no seatbelt — even a low-speed impact with a car or SUV can cause broken bones, head trauma, or permanent disability.
At Sholtes Law, PLLC, we represent injured cyclists throughout St. Lucie County, including Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Lakewood Park, and the surrounding communities. We investigate the crash, document your injuries, and handle every conversation with the insurance company so you can focus on healing. Our legal team prepares each case as though it will go to trial, which consistently strengthens our position at the negotiating table.
Why Injured Cyclists in St. Lucie County Choose Sholtes Law, PLLC
Attorney Andrew Sholtes is a native of St. Lucie, Florida, and graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University College of Law. Before founding Sholtes Law, PLLC, he worked under one of the nation’s top trial lawyers at the Willie Gary Law Group, handling personal injury, wrongful death, and complex commercial litigation. That trial background matters in bicycle cases, where insurers often try to blame the rider and minimize what a claim is worth. You can learn more about his experience on our attorney profile page.
Our main office sits at 309 Orange Avenue in downtown Fort Pierce, just blocks from the St. Lucie County Courthouse where personal injury lawsuits for crashes anywhere in the county are filed in Florida’s 19th Judicial Circuit. We know the local roads, the local courts, and the insurance carriers that operate on the Treasure Coast. And because we work on a contingency fee basis, you owe us nothing unless we win compensation for you. Our practice covers every type of injury claim handled by a St. Lucie personal injury lawyer, so if your bike crash involved a drunk driver, a hit-and-run, or an uninsured motorist, we can pursue every avenue of recovery in a single case.
Where Bicycle Accidents Happen in St. Lucie County
Most serious bicycle crashes in St. Lucie County happen where high traffic volume meets limited cycling infrastructure. We regularly see collisions along US-1, where drivers turning into shopping plazas cut across bike lanes; on Okeechobee Road and Midway Road, where vehicles travel at highway speeds beside narrow shoulders; near the I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike interchanges, where merging drivers focus on traffic instead of riders; and in downtown Fort Pierce along Orange Avenue and Seaway Drive, where cyclists mix with beach traffic, parked cars, and pedestrians. Intersection crashes — a driver turning left across a rider’s path or rolling through a stop sign — account for a large share of the worst injuries.
Riders hurt in these crashes are frequently transported to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, the region’s Level II trauma center, or to Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie. If your crash happened inside the Port St. Lucie city limits — on Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Gatlin Boulevard, or in neighborhoods like Tradition or St. Lucie West — our Port St. Lucie bicycle accident lawyer page addresses the issues specific to riding in the city. Wherever in the county you were hit, our team is ready to help.
Florida Bicycle Laws That Protect St. Lucie County Riders
Florida law treats a bicycle as a vehicle. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.2065, bicyclists have the same rights to the roadway as motorists — and the same duties. Drivers who pass a cyclist must give at least three feet of clearance, and riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet. Adults are not legally required to wear one, and the insurance company cannot refuse to pay your claim simply because you chose not to.
Many injured cyclists are surprised to learn that Florida’s no-fault system can apply to them. If you own a car with Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, that $10,000 in PIP benefits generally covers you when you are struck by a motor vehicle while riding your bicycle — but you must seek initial medical treatment within 14 days of the crash to preserve those benefits. Because bicycle injuries routinely exceed PIP limits and meet Florida’s serious-injury threshold, most riders also have a claim against the at-fault driver for the full scope of their damages, including pain and suffering.
Proving Negligence After a St. Lucie County Bike Crash
Most bicycle accidents are caused by driver error: running red lights or stop signs, failing to yield the right of way, texting behind the wheel, driving under the influence, making unsafe lane changes, or misjudging a cyclist’s speed when turning. “I never saw the rider” is an admission, not a defense — drivers are legally required to look. To hold a motorist accountable, we must show they owed you a duty of care, breached it, and directly caused your injuries.
Our team builds that proof through police crash reports, traffic and business surveillance footage, witness statements, photographs of the scene and vehicle damage, and accident reconstruction experts when liability is disputed. Timing matters under current Florida law. Since HB 837 took effect in March 2023, you generally have only two years from the date of the crash to file a negligence lawsuit, and Florida now applies modified comparative negligence — if an insurer convinces a jury you were more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. Insurance adjusters know this, which is why they work quickly to pin blame on cyclists. We push back with evidence.
Compensation for Injured Cyclists
A serious bike crash creates losses that extend far beyond the first emergency room bill. Depending on the facts of your case, we pursue compensation for:
- Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, and all past and future medical treatment
- Physical therapy, rehabilitation, and long-term pain management
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity if you cannot return to your prior work
- Replacement of your bicycle and damaged gear
- Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, or disability
Where a driver’s conduct was especially egregious — such as drunk driving — punitive damages may also be available; Florida generally caps them at three times compensatory damages or $500,000 and requires clear and convincing evidence. If a loved one was killed while riding, our St. Lucie wrongful death lawyer can explain the rights of surviving family members under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.
What to Do After a Bicycle Accident in St. Lucie County
- Call 911 and get medical care immediately. Remember Florida’s 14-day PIP treatment window — and some injuries, like concussions, may not show symptoms right away.
- Make sure a police report is filed and get the responding agency and report number.
- Photograph everything — the vehicle, your bicycle, the roadway, skid marks, and your injuries.
- Collect names and contact information for the driver and any witnesses.
- Preserve your bike, helmet, and clothing in their damaged condition; they are evidence.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with a lawyer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a bicycle accident lawsuit in Florida?
Generally two years from the date of the crash under Florida’s current statute of limitations for negligence claims. Critical evidence such as surveillance footage can disappear within days, so it is wise to involve an attorney long before that deadline approaches.
Does my car insurance cover me if I was hit while riding my bike?
Often, yes. If you carry PIP on your own auto policy, it typically applies when a motor vehicle strikes you while you are cycling. Uninsured motorist coverage on your policy may also apply if the at-fault driver carries little or no insurance.
What if the driver who hit me fled the scene or has no insurance?
You may still have a strong claim through your own uninsured motorist coverage, which treats a hit-and-run driver as uninsured. Our uninsured motorist accident lawyer page explains how these claims work in St. Lucie County.
How much does it cost to hire a St. Lucie bicycle accident attorney?
Nothing up front. Sholtes Law, PLLC handles bicycle accident cases on a contingency fee basis, which means our fee comes out of the recovery we obtain for you. If we do not recover compensation, you owe us no attorney’s fee.
Can I still recover compensation if I was not wearing a helmet?
Yes. Florida does not require riders 16 and older to wear helmets, and the lack of one does not bar your claim. An insurer may argue it should reduce your compensation for head injuries, and we counter those arguments with medical and biomechanical evidence.
Contact a St. Lucie Bicycle Accident Attorney Today
If you were hurt or lost a loved one in a bicycle collision anywhere in St. Lucie County, contact Sholtes Law, PLLC for a complimentary case analysis. Call 855-534-2509 or reach us online — there is no fee unless we recover for you. Our office is located at 309 Orange Avenue, Fort Pierce, FL 34950, and we handle related claims countywide, from car accidents to motorcycle crashes. We also serve riders across the Treasure Coast: whether you need a Port St. Lucie bicycle accident attorney for a crash on the city’s boulevards or a Port Salerno bicycle accident attorney for a collision in Martin County, our team is ready to fight for you.
