Get the Justice and Compensation You Deserve With the Best Bicycle Accident Lawyers in the Nation

United States’ roadways are often witness to wounded and deceased bicyclists. Many motorists do not pull over to assist an injured cyclist when an accident occurs. As a result, if you have been hurt in an accident like this, keep these measures in mind.

• Seek medical attention.

If a vehicle strikes a bicycle, the rider may likely lose control and crash. Broken arms or legs, soft tissue injuries, bruising and scrapes, broken noses or teeth are all possible even when a biker wears a helmet. You should seek medical attention immediately, even if you do not seem injured or are experiencing any discomfort at that moment.

• Call the police and file a report.

If you meet with an accident, there is no need for you to act as if nothing occurred because the motorist fled the scene. When the cops come, submit a police report after calling 9-1-1. It is essential that you gather evidence of the fault of the driver before attempting to make a claim.

You can still claim with your insurance carrier even if the other party was not at-fault. If the police do locate the driver, you have to prepared with the required paperwork. Your medical expenses and property damage will be covered by your insurance provider (within the limit of your policy).

• Keep an eye out for potential witnesses.

If anybody was around at the time of the collision, they may have seen it and recalled the make, model, and color of the car, as well as the license plate number and maybe the identity of the driver. Inquire about their recollection of what transpired and how the mishap took place. It is critical to learn about those details. Police may be able to hunt down and apprehend the motorist who struck you by questioning the said witnesses.

• Let your insurance provider know.

If you have been involved in a hit-and-run or any other kind of accident, you should contact your insurance provider and explain what occurred. You usually have twenty-four hours from the time of the accident to make a claim, so contact the insurance company right at once.

After being hit by a vehicle while cycling, you may be in too serious of a medical condition to do much other than rest and wait for emergency services to arrive. However, if at all feasible, you should attempt the following things mentioned below.

• Call the police and emergency medical services (EMS) by dialing 9-1-1 immediately.

Even if you call the police, it does not mean a report will be filed. Nevertheless, performing this action increases the likelihood of the report being filed. If a police officer inquires you about the accident, talk only to that officer. If you speak to anybody at the accident site, be aware that the insurance company may use such information against you in the future. A ticket for the driver is also something you may and should request from the police.

• If you are hurt, go to the hospital.

You should visit a doctor if you have been injured, particularly the head, even if you do not have any symptoms. A concussion, whiplash, or another severe injury may go unnoticed for days after a collision. Documenting your injuries helps your lawyer in determining the full extent of your losses.

• Document your surroundings by taking pictures of things like buildings and road signs.

It is preferable to use a camera preferably your phone camera to record the date and time while taking pictures of the area. Make a note of any damage to the bicycle. Take photos of the road, the curb, the surrounding area, your injuries, and any security cameras that may have captured the collision. You should also get the license plate number of the motorist who caused the accident if possible.

• Ask for Witnesses’ Contact Information

All too frequently, a collision pits the victim against the perpetrator. Obtain the names and contact information of any witnesses who may have been there at the time of the incident. If you are hurt, seek the aid of a friend or family member immediately. While it is the job of the police to get this information from the motorist, you should double-check and try everything on your end. Even a single eyewitness may have a significant impact for your claims.

To put it bluntly, the answer to this question is no. The legal notion of carelessness is usually used to determine who is at blame in a bicycle accident, as it is in most other types of collisions. Driving a car on the road entails the responsibility of care to other people on the road. It is negligence if someone is harmed due to someone else’s failure to behave reasonably (in this instance, by breaking a traffic law/regulation).

There will generally be a key question about who is to blame in an intersection bicycle accident. That question being if any traffic infraction is committed by one of the parties involved (such as running a red light or rolling right past a stop sign). This infraction will likely be decisive with the violating driver or cyclist being deemed negligent and liable for paying the victim their damages. Except for jurisdictions that use negligence as a yardstick for assigning blame in a bicycle and automobile collision case, all states have shared responsibility laws that influence how personal injury damages are calculated. Details about these are mentioned below.

Contributory Negligence

The shared blame rule of contributory negligence says that if someone is at fault for the accident in any manner, they cannot be compensated in a personal injury case for their injuries or losses. This implies that even if a driver were 90 per cent at fault, a biker (or anybody else) who was just 10 per cent at fault, then the cyclist would have no recourse to compensation. Just a few states enforce this onerous regulation, including Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the D.C.

Comparative Negligence

A comparative negligence system exists in most states in the US; nevertheless, there are differences in how the rule is implemented. In a case of pure comparative negligence, each party will be compensated for their share of the losses, for the parts that they were not to blame.

Generally, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. If you have been hurt in a negligent bicycle accident, your vehicle insurance or the insurance of the at-fault driver may not be enough to pay the entire cost of your medical treatment and lost earnings. A personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible is your best choice if you need to recover all the accident-related expenses. Personal injury lawsuits in almost all the states must be filed within two years after the injury. A statute of limitations is applied here, and it provides rules on when you are allowed to file a lawsuit arising from the bicycle accident that injured you; if you do not follow that timeline, then your claim can be permanently barred.

Despite these basic guidelines, it is a good idea to speak with an expert bicycle accident lawyer who has handled cycling accident cases to correctly identify the statute of limitations that applies to your case. Accidents involving an injured child, or a municipal defendant may necessitate filing a notice provision or a lawsuit sooner rather than later, which would change the timetable substantially. Additionally, many car accident situations require extensive investigation before a lawsuit can be filed. To establish who was at fault, an investigation may be necessary, including interviewing witnesses or re-creating the event. Depending on the circumstances, an inquiry may be required to identify the appropriate defendants, such as corporations as a police report may not reveal whether the motorist who caused the accident was operating on their job at the time of the collision.

However, you will want to wait until you have gathered all available proof of your losses before filing within the 2-year time limit. The evidence could include:

• Loss of your possessions (bicycle, clothes).

• Each medical bill.

• Any money that you have lost.

• Suffering and anguish.

Thus, you should wait to claim until you have determined the full degree of your injuries and the financial burden they have placed on you, but by always keeping in mind about the statute of limitations.