Bicycle Accident Lawyer in Pomona

What do Pomona’s crash figures show for bicycle accidents?

In the California Office of Traffic Safety rankings for 2023, where rank 1 is the worst in the group, Pomona ranked 17th of 62 California cities its size for cyclists killed or injured, with 42 victims. That is worse than average for a city this size without being near the top of the list, and it should be read that way rather than inflated. Cyclists under 15 accounted for one of those victims, ranking 58th of 62, which is among the better records in the group and is worth saying out loud. Across all road users Pomona recorded 783 victims, 18th of 62. The rankings are rate based, weighted against population and daily vehicle miles travelled, so they compare Pomona with cities of similar size and traffic rather than measuring raw counts.

The two Pomona figures that matter more to a cyclist are not in the cycling row at all. The city ranked 8th of 62 for hit and run, with 94 collisions, and 5th of 62 for collisions between 9:00pm and 2:59am, with 106. A cyclist is easy for a driver to lose sight of and easy for a driver to leave behind, and those two ranks put Pomona in the worst seventh and the worst tenth of its group respectively. Put together they mean a substantial share of Pomona bike collisions will never produce a named, insured driver at all.

That is why uninsured motorist cover belongs at the front of a Pomona bicycle case rather than at the back. Where the driver is never identified there is no liability policy to pursue, and the claim becomes a contract claim against your own insurer under the uninsured motorist cover on your motor policy. That cover generally follows the insured person rather than a particular vehicle, so a cyclist with a car policy at home can often reach it even though no car of theirs was involved, which surprises most riders. It is not automatic, the policy wording governs, and uninsured motorist cover carries its own notice requirements and time limits that are separate from the deadline for suing a driver. All of which is a reason to read the declarations page in the first week rather than the sixth month.

Where a driver is identified, the liability fight in a bike case is about position and right of way rather than speed, and it is decided on physical evidence: the damage pattern on the bicycle and on the vehicle, the lane markings, whether a bike lane was present or obstructed, the gouge marks on the road and any camera covering the junction. A bicycle is often repaired or thrown out within days of a crash, which destroys the best evidence in the case, so it should be preserved untouched instead. In a city ranked 5th worst of 62 for night collisions, expect lighting and reflectivity to be the insurer’s opening argument, and expect it to be answered with the same physical record rather than with recollection.

Where the road surface contributed, through a drain grate, a utility cut, an abrupt lane drop, a pothole or an obstructed bike lane, the defendant may be a public entity instead of a driver, and which entity depends on who owns the roadway. Pomona runs its own municipal police department rather than a Sheriff’s contract, so a city street collision is investigated by the Pomona Police Department and the City is the public body in the frame. A state highway belongs to Caltrans, and in Pomona that means State Route 71 within the city limits, State Route 60 between Phillips Ranch Road and Reservoir Street, Interstate 10 and State Route 57.

Where is a Pomona bicycle accident case filed, and what are the deadlines?

The deadlines then split sharply. Against a driver you generally have two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Against any public entity, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim within six months of the injury, and the shorter deadline governs. A claim against the City of Pomona is presented to the Pomona City Clerk’s Office, which the City’s own department listing names as the office that processes damage claims. Its counter address, hours, accepted filing methods and the City’s claim form are not published in a form we are willing to quote, so confirm those with the City Clerk’s Office directly.

California is a pure comparative fault state, so an argument that you rode without lights or outside the lane reduces a recovery rather than ending the claim. Filing is local: Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(A), effective 1 January 2026, requires an unlimited civil case for bodily injury or wrongful death to be filed in the judicial district where the incident arose, which makes a Pomona crash an East District case at Pomona Courthouse South, 400 Civic Center Plaza.

For the wider picture on this city see the Pomona personal injury page, and for how these claims are run generally see the Los Angeles bicycle accident practice. Pomona’s other collision pages cover car, pedestrian and motorcycle claims. If your matter is a drug, device or product claim rather than a collision, Broukhim Legal PC also takes on mass tort and complex litigation work for people living in and around Pomona.