Gainesville Bicycle Accident Lawyer Chris Burns

About Chris Burns

Chris Burns is a highly respected lawyer and is known as one of the only full-time bicycle accident lawyers in the state of Florida.

Chris lives just an hour from Gainesville in Jacksonville, known as one of the worst cities in the nation for bicycle accidents!

As an avid cyclist, Chris is very familiar with the roads of Gainesville.  He has ridden thousands of miles in Alachua county, from the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trial, to participating in local events, including the Gainesville Cycling Festival, the Horse Farm Hundred, and the Sante Fe Century.

He is keenly aware of the dangers bicyclists face, since he has personally endured several bicycle accidents.

Chris has personally handled hundreds of bicycle accident cases. While he practices law all over Florida, he has a number of cases specific to St. Augustine. This doesn't even include the surrounding beautiful areas of St. Augustine, like South Ponte Vedra Beach, Vilano Beach, Lincolnville, Anastasia, St. Augustine Beach, Butler Beach Crescent Beach, and the coast past Fort Matanzas to Palm Coast.

To give you an idea of cases, Chris has helped cyclists falling due to damaged roads to a bicyclists hit and killed by a car. The bicycle accident cases resulted in confidential settlements as well as verdicts between $20,000 and $3.5 million.

Practice Areas

• Cycling injuries caused by the negligent or reckless acts of others
• Wrongful deaths involving bicyclists
• Accidents with e-Bikes
• Product defects - broken stems, forks, frames, quick-releases, handlebars, seatposts, etc.
• Injuries involving cars and bicycles
• Accidents between bicycles and trucks
• Bicycle crashes caused by dogs
• Motorcycle accidents with bicycles
• Motorists “buzzing” cyclists
• Road defects causing cycling accidents - potholes, dangerous road gratings, and unsafe man-hole covers
• Property damage claims of cyclists
• Insurance claims for bicyclists
• Experience and Promise

Experience & Promise

When you hire me to be your attorney, you get much more than an attorney - you get a person who has passionately ridden his bike six or seven days a week for the past 35 years. You get a person who has successfully handled hundreds of cycling cases for more than 35 years. You get a person who has advocated for bicyclists through service on governmental committees and national/local organizations that promote cycling. You get a person who has spent his vacation time visiting and riding the courses of the Tour De France. You get someone who chooses to commute to his law office by bike. You get a lawyer who cares about you and understands you.

Education

• Vanderbilt University, Doctor of Law (J.D.), 1982-1985
• Kalamazoo College, B.A., 1978-1982

Legal Involvement

• Received the highest possible lawyer rating by Martindale-Hubbell for the past 21 years. The rating is called “AV”. This distinction recognizes Legal Ability and Ethical Standards earned through strenuous review by my peers.
• Selected to Florida Super Lawyers 2009, 2011 to 2023.
• Top Attorneys in Florida (as published in Wall Street Journal; selected by peer recognition and professional achievement) -  2011 to 2023.
• The Florida Bar Association
• The Florida Justice Association
• The Jacksonville Justice Association (President 2005)
• The Jacksonville Bar Association
• The Jacksonville Bar Association Ethics Subcommittee
• The American Bar Association
• The American Association for Justice
• Member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100

Cycling & Bicycle Advocacy Involvement

• Advisory Board - Florida Bicycle Association
• North Florida Bicycle Club
• Jacksonville Racing Club
• Velobrew Cycling Club
• League of American Bicyclists
• President of Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee  – City of Jacksonville, FL – from 2015 to present
• Member of the Jacksonville City Council’s Context Sensitive Streets Standards Committee, as Jacksonville’s bicycle and pedestrian representative, from 2015 to present
• Past sponsor of the University of Florida Cycling Team
• Contributor to "People for Bikes", national advocacy organization

Community Involvement

• Jacksonville Country Day School - Board of Trustees - President 2007-2009
• Sports & Entertainment Board – Jacksonville Economic Development Commission – 5 years; Past President
• Florida DEP Office of Greenways and Trails Foundation – Board of Trustees