Hit Bicyclist - On Freeway

Location: Santa Clara County, California

I was driving home from a friend’s house a couple weeks ago. . I will preface this with - no, I was not drinking by, no, I was not touching my phone.

It was dark. Super dark, poorly lit part of the freeway. 9:30pm.

If you are familiar with the area- near the CHP check station between Gilroy and San Martin.

At the very last second I saw a bicycle and swerved to avoid them. Keep in mind- I AM ON THE FREEWAY. Not a regular street. Not a frontage road. *The freeway*- and NOT a freeway where a cyclist belongs in any way, shape or form. I know there are some freeway stretches where it is legal. This is not one. Furthermore, he was in the #2 lane. There are also plenty of roads surrounding the area, so no excuse there.

Unfortunately, I did hit the guy. I was terrified and in shock as I pulled over to the shoulder. I still am nervous to drive, frankly.

I called 911 immediately. They dispatched ambulance, FD, and of course CHP. CHP, paramedics, all came to check on me after they took care of the guy. He sustained minor injuries according to the CHP report. I have not obtained the full report yet, but CHP said it would be ready this week. Every single person - including law enforcement, paramedic, firefighter- said “I just don’t understand why the hell he was on the freeway on a *bicycle*”.

So. I get a letter from Geico a couple days ago, saying the injured party has retained an attorney and is pursuing an injury claim.

My questions are:

• How likely is this person to win?

• Would it be any help at all if I retain a defense lawyer? Or will Geico’s attorneys be sufficient? My limits were $30k/$60k.

• if a defense lawyer is in fact appropriate, how does one go about finding one? I’ve never had legal issues my entire life so this is very new to me.