Riding a bike is becoming quite a popular method of transportation, and seems like a relatively safe activity. However, a bicycle accident injury happens more often than you may think.
Regardless of how cautiously you ride, at one point or another, you may find yourself suffering a serious bicycle accident injury. This is can be a devastating experience just thinking of the painful road to recovery and the financial burdens this can place on you.
Nonetheless, if your bicycle accident injury was caused by another party, you are liable to compensation. Let us look at a few more details that may help your claim and get you the compensation you deserve.
Consider Who is Responsible For the Bicycle Accident
Who’s at fault? It is one of the most important questions when you suffer a bicycle accident injury. While some bike accidents happen by a rider mistake, most of them occur because of other parties’ negligency.
If another party is the cause of your bicycle accident then you are within your rights to sue them for compensation. Let us take a look at parties that can be responsible for your bicycle accident.
- The driver of the motor vehicle. Motor vehicles are some of the main causes of bicycle accidents on roads mainly due to driver negligence. In this case, you can sue the driver or owner of the vehicle for compensation.
- City, state, or county responsible for maintenance. In some cases, your accident can be caused by terrible road conditions such as potholes, cracked pavements, or inadequate lane markings. In this case, you can sue the city, state, or county for compensation.
- Manufacturer or retailer of the bike. In some situations, your accident may be caused by a defective part on your bicycle, perhaps due to design or manufacturing defects. In this situation, you sue the manufacturer or retailer for compensation.
- Bike repair shop. If your bike was recently repaired and repaired part works ineffectively and leads to an accident. Then you may have grounds to sue the shop or mechanic for compensation.
If any of these parties are responsible for your bicycle accident injury, then you do have reasonable grounds to sue, and demand compensation for property damage, mental and physical injury, and lost income.
Seek Medical Help
Whether you think you are injured or not it is paramount you get medical help as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours since the accident’s occurrence. Medical records will provide you with irrefutable proof of your bicycle accident injuries while also ensuring your safety and health.
Document What Happened
Take as many photos as possible of your injuries and the accident from different angles with proper lighting. Do not forget to record the road conditions and anything else you may deem valuable to your claim. Furthermore, ensure you write everything down as soon as possible and have copies of your bills and any inconveniences the accident may have caused.
Preserve Evidence
Leave your exactly as it was after the accident, refrain from changing anything. If you believe the accident was caused by a defective part, preserve it as evidence. This will help you further your claim.
Take Other Party’s and Witnesses’ Information.
Don’t leave the scene of the accident, especially if the bicycle accident injury was caused by a motor vehicle, without taking the other party’s information, including insurance. Ensure you also take the contact information of any witnesses that saw your accident.
Find a Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Contacting a personal injury attorney can help your case tremendously as this allows you to have some who knows what they are doing in your corner.
It is important that you hire a personal injury lawyer who has experience practicing in this area of law. This lawyer will represent you in all aspects of the legal process. He will represent your case to insurance companies, file a lawsuit in the courts, and take it to trial if no settlement is reached.
You should speak with a lawyer as soon as possible to be in the most favorable position.
