Hollywood Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Vehicle Code § 21202 allows a rider moving slower than traffic to leave the right-hand edge to pass, to prepare for a left turn, and to avoid hazards — including parked cars, opening doors, and a lane too narrow to share safely. That last exception matters on Hollywood Blvd and Sunset, where curb lanes are narrow and lined with parked vehicles.

Vehicle Code § 21760, the Three Feet for Safety Act, requires a driver overtaking a bicycle to pass at a safe distance of at least three feet, and to slow and pass only when safe if three feet is not available. Vehicle Code § 22517 makes it unlawful to open a car door into traffic when it is not reasonably safe — the dooring statute.

Hollywood Blvd and the blocks around it are lined with hotels, theaters, retail and venues, and many of them run exterior cameras facing the sidewalk and street. That footage is typically overwritten on a short cycle set by each business, so we send preservation letters to the businesses nearest the collision as one of the first things we do.

Photograph the bike before anything is repaired, keep the helmet, and keep the damaged clothing. Component damage and scuff patterns often establish the direction of impact when the drivers' accounts disagree.

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center on N. Vermont Ave and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Beverly Blvd are the nearest full-service emergency departments. Head injury and wrist, shoulder and hip fractures are the common pattern; document them the same week even if you rode away from the scene.