Unbroken Spokes: Cycling Through Your Personal Injury Case After a Bicycle Accident
Bicycle accidents are often caused by the same factors involved in car accidents. Interestingly, however, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, two-thirds of all bicycle accidents occur at non-intersection locations. Both car accidents and bicycle accidents are commonly caused when a driver fails to yield the right of way, runs a stop sign or traffic light, drives while distracted, drives while intoxicated, makes an improper lane change, or travels too closely. However, bicyclists face many other dangers on the roadway, including:
- A driver crowds the rider and sideswipes the bicycle or hits it with a side mirror.
- A driver exiting a parked car may open the door into a passing bicyclist.
- A driver cuts off a bicyclist by making a turn immediately in front of him or her.
- A driver fails to check mirrors – before making a right turn or moving into another lane ahead of a bicycle.
- A driver turns across a bike lane without checking for bike traffic.
- A driver reverses without checking for bike traffic.
When a car or truck hits a bicycle, even if the rider is not killed, the rider often suffers severe and even life-changing injuries. From burns and abrasions to broken bones, head and neck injuries, spinal cord injuries, organ damage, scarring and disfigurement, and even traumatic brain injury. Between the medical bills and lost time from work (or school), the economic damage can also be devastating.
You should not have to deal with the financial stress of paying medical bills for the treatment or injuries caused by an automobile driver. At Dana Adkins Personal Injury Lawyers, we want to ease your burden. It is important to focus on receiving all the medical care that you need, going through rehabilitation if needed, and following your doctor’s instructions. Meanwhile, you can trust our law firm to be here every day working hard on your behalf, so you can focus on recovering from your injuries.
We will review the accident details and gather all relevant evidence, including witness statements and traffic camera footage. At the appropriate time in your recovery, we will submit a demand letter to the driver’s insurance company and attempt to negotiate a just settlement. Full compensation for your injuries should include:
- Medical expenses (past and future), including emergency room care, hospitalization, rehabilitation, follow-up doctor appointments, medication, wheelchairs, walkers, and other medical devices.
- Lost income and reduced earnings capacity if the accident will leave you partly disabled and limit the type of work you can perform in the future.
- Pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress.
- Depending on the facts of your case, punitive damages may be available as well. Those damages are awarded to punish and deter willful, reckless or wanton conduct, such as drunk driving.
Whether you should sue will depend on whether the insurance company will agree to a fair settlement based on the nature of your specific injuries and losses. Even when the driver was clearly at fault, their insurer may try to deny the bicyclist’s claim or minimize the injuries to reduce the payout. It also may be difficult to determine what your future medical needs will be. We will keep you informed of the progress of the negotiations on your behalf. We will also be prepared to go court if necessary.
At Dana Adkins Personal Injury Lawyers, we assist bicyclists injured in accidents in Charleston and throughout South Carolina on a contingency fee basis. We do not get paid a legal fee unless we obtain compensation for you through a negotiated settlement or court award. If we are successful, then we take a portion of the amount recovered as payment of our legal fee and case expenses. We are selective about the cases we accept so we can devote full attention to each client we represent.
After a biking accident, you likely have questions regarding insurance and medical bills that may be best answered by an attorney. If you recently suffered injuries in a bicycle accident due to someone else’s negligence, or if you lost a loved one in a bicycle crash, contact us today to talk about how we can help. We are available by phone at: 843-823-6237 or email at: Dana.Adkins@PalmettoStateInjuryLawyers.com. You can count on us to stand up for you!