A bicycle accident can leave very concrete doubts: who must compensate you, how is liability proven, and what expenses can you recover? In Milan, where bicycles, e-bikes, cars, and public transport often share close spaces, the reconstruction of the dynamics can depend on a few seconds and elements that risk disappearing quickly.
In this guide, I want to help you distinguish a collision with a vehicle from an accident caused by a poorly maintained road, understand when a cyclist's conduct reduces compensation, and recognize the specific features of electric bicycles. I will also explain what damages can be claimed, how to set up the claim with the insurance company, and what mistakes to avoid before accepting an offer.
Who is liable for the damages suffered by the cyclist
If the accident involves an insured vehicle, the injured cyclist can address the request to the company insuring the party at fault. Article 144 of the Insurance Code indeed grants the injured party a direct action against the vehicle's insurer, within the limits of the coverage: the text of the provision can be consulted in the publication of the Insurance Code in the Official Gazette.
However, the driver is not automatically liable. Article 2054 of the Civil Code requires them to prove they did everything possible to avoid the damage. This rule facilitates those who have been run over, but does not prevent establishing imprudent conduct by the cyclist. Articles 2054, 1227, and 2947 can be consulted in the text of the Civil Code on Normattiva.
Driver, owner, and insurer have different positions. The driver is liable for their own conduct; the vehicle owner may be held liable alongside them in cases provided by law; the insurance intervenes within the limits and according to the rules of compulsory civil liability. Identifying the license plate, driver, and company prevents addressing the claim to the wrong subject.
How fault is established in the accident
Fault is reconstructed through concrete conduct: right of way, speed, lateral distance, visibility, turning, opening a door, use of the cycle lane, and the actual possibility of avoiding the impact. A fine may be relevant, but by itself it does not replace the assessment of the relationship between the violation and the accident.
Contributory negligence reduces compensation. If the motorist makes a turn without checking and the cyclist proceeds imprudently, the judge can distribute liability in different percentages. It is not enough to prove that the cyclist violated a rule: that conduct must have contributed to the collision or the extent of the consequences.
Fifty percent is not the mandatory starting point. In a collision between vehicles, the law provides for a subsidiary presumption of equal liability when the evidence does not allow establishing the drivers' contribution otherwise. Photographs, final position of the vehicles, testimonies, recordings, and reports can instead allow a more precise reconstruction.
The rules also apply to those who pedal. Article 182 of the Highway Code regulates, among other things, position, control of the vehicle, and use of cycling spaces. The current text of Article 182 helps to understand which behaviors may become relevant in the reconstruction, without turning every infraction into an automatic loss of the right to compensation.
What changes if the vehicle is an e-bike
A normal pedal-assist bicycle is treated as a velocipede when the motor is auxiliary, has a maximum continuous rated power of 0.25 kW, and the assistance decreases until it stops at 25 km/h or when the cyclist stops pedaling. Assistance with stationary pedals up to 6 km/h is permitted; for velocipedes intended for the transport of goods, the law contemplates the different threshold provided by Article 50.
A technical modification can change the classification of the vehicle. If the power or assisted speed exceeds the limits, the vehicle must not be automatically treated as a bicycle: Article 50 considers mopeds the e-bikes that do not meet the required characteristics. The modifications are reported in the Official Gazette concerning the discipline of pedal-assist velocipedes.
Classification affects insurance and circulation obligations, but an irregular modification does not cancel by itself the compensation against the driver who caused the impact. It is necessary to understand whether the characteristics of the vehicle contributed to the dynamics, for example by increasing the speed or making it more difficult to avoid the impact. Simple administrative irregularity and civil liability do not necessarily coincide.
What damages you can claim
Personal injury includes temporary and permanent consequences. The evaluation includes the period of illness, limitations during healing, and any aftereffects remaining after clinical stabilization. For minor injuries deriving from the circulation of motor vehicles, Article 139 of the Insurance Code regulates biological damage up to nine percent permanent disability.
Health documentation must describe a coherent path. The emergency room report temporally links the disorders to the accident; subsequent visits, tests, and prescriptions show the evolution of the injuries. A final medico-legal evaluation serves to translate clinical outcomes into compensation criteria, but does not replace proof of the accident and the causal link.
Expenses can be reimbursed if necessary, relevant, and proven. Tickets, visits, therapies, medicines, aids, and travel related to treatments can assume relevance. Even a loss of income can be claimed, but it must result from concrete elements: it is not enough to state that one worked less or gave up an activity.
Material damage does not concern only the frame. The claim can include repair or value of the bicycle, helmet, clothing, glasses, telephone, and other objects damaged in the impact, provided that their ownership, previous condition, and connection with the accident are proven. Compensation must not produce enrichment: for a used vehicle, age, conditions, and value before the accident also count.
How to submit the claim to the insurance company
The request must be complete and addressed to the correct insurer. It must describe the place, date, dynamics, subjects involved, license plate, damages, and circumstances useful for establishing liability. For personal injuries, the data and documentation indicated in Article 148 are also required, including the medical attestation of healing with or without aftereffects.
Insurance deadlines start from the receipt of the requested documentation. For property damage only, the company formulates the offer or expresses denial within sixty days; in cases provided by law, the term can be reduced to thirty days. For personal injury, the term is ninety days. If the request is incomplete, the company can ask for additions and the term restarts from their receipt. The discipline is contained in Article 148 of the Insurance Code.
The bicycle must remain available for inspection. For property damage, the request indicates where and when the vehicle can be examined for at least five non-holiday days. Repairing it or getting rid of it immediately can make it more difficult to ascertain the damage. If a repair cannot wait, detailed photographs, an estimate, replaced parts, and an invoice become particularly important.
An offer must not be evaluated only in its total amount. It is useful to understand what items it includes, what percentage of liability it attributes to the cyclist, and whether it also definitively closes physical damages. Accepting a final settlement when health conditions are not yet stabilized can prevent discussing consequences that emerge later.
When there is no identifiable insured vehicle
If the vehicle flees or is not insured, a special discipline exists. The Guarantee Fund for Road Victims intervenes in the hypotheses provided by Article 283 of the Insurance Code, with conditions and limits that change according to the type of vehicle and damage. Not every loss is therefore reimbursed in the same way. The reference is Article 283 on Normattiva.
After a hit-and-run, elements collected immediately matter most. Part of the license plate, the description of the vehicle, witness contacts, photographs, and police intervention can allow identifying the person responsible or proving that the accident was caused by an unknown vehicle. Any recordings available in the area may also be preserved only for limited periods.
If the fall depends on the road, the responsible subject changes instead. A pothole, an obstacle, or an anomalous surface can bring the road custodian into play when the defect caused the fall. However, precise proof of the place's conditions and the link with the accident is needed; visibility of the obstacle, speed, and attention of the cyclist can affect liability.
Deadlines and mistakes to avoid
The right cannot be exercised without time limits. For damages produced by vehicle circulation, Article 2947 of the Civil Code normally provides for a two-year prescription, with special rules when the act constitutes a crime. The starting date and acts capable of interrupting the term require attention: informal communication does not always offer the necessary protection.
Before taking legal action, the insurance procedure must be respected. Article 145 establishes that legal action cannot be proposed before sixty days have elapsed from the complete request, or ninety when there are personal injuries. The reference is Article 145 of the Insurance Code.
The hardest mistakes to correct concern evidence. Failing to identify witnesses, throwing away the helmet, repairing the bike without documenting it, or signing an unshared reconstruction can weaken the claim. To prepare a useful confrontation, the report or parties' data, photographs, medical documentation, receipts, estimates, and communications already exchanged with the insurance are sufficient.
Frequently asked questions
Does the cyclist who was hit always have the right to compensation?
No, compensation depends on liability. Article 2054 facilitates the injured party against the driver, but the insurance can prove culpable conduct by the cyclist. If both contributed to the accident, the amount is reduced according to the respective causal incidence; a simple infraction without a relationship to the impact is not automatically enough.
To which insurance company should I send the request?
As a rule, to the company of the responsible vehicle. An ordinary bicycle does not normally allow using the direct compensation procedure provided for the collision between two insured motor vehicles. License plate and driver data allow identifying the correct company; for modified e-bikes, the classification of the vehicle must be clarified first.
Can I repair the bicycle immediately?
It is preferable to wait for the inspection or the expected deadline. Article 148 requires making the bicycle available to the insurance for at least five non-holiday days. If the repair is urgent, keep detailed photographs, estimate, invoice, and, when possible, replaced components: the insurer must be able to verify the nature and extent of the damage.
How much time do I have to claim compensation?
The prescription period is normally two years for damage deriving from vehicle circulation. If the fact constitutes a crime, different rules may apply. It is not advisable to wait for the deadline: the date of the accident, any communications already sent, and their effective capacity to interrupt the term must be considered.
What happens if the vehicle fled or is not insured?
The Guarantee Fund for Road Victims can intervene, but only in the hypotheses and within the limits established by the law. It is important to gather witnesses, vehicle description, any parts of the license plate, and authorities' interventions immediately. Physical and material damages are not necessarily compensated under the same conditions.
Evaluating the claim before closing the accident file
Liability, proof, and quantification must be read together. A clear dynamic is not enough if documents on damages are missing; a complete medical record does not prove who caused the accident. If you want to understand a fault contestation, verify an offer, or set up the claim after a bicycle or e-bike accident, you can contact me bringing the few elements that truly describe the accident.