If you have been involved in a bicycle accident, you need to know what steps you must take to protect your rights and interests. You need to understand the strategies that you need to employ to best ensure that you obtain appropriate financial compensation for your injuries.
Compensation for Bicycle Accident Injuries
The reality is that injuries sustained by a bicycle rider involved in an accident with a car typically are serious. The injuries associated with a bicycle accident can have an enduring impact on a person’s life.
The type of injuries for which a person can seek financial recovery vary from one case to another. Nonetheless, there are some types of injuries, damages and losses arising from a bicycle accident that typically result in compensation for an injured biker. These include:\\
- medical expenses
- pain and suffering
- mental anguish
- permanent disability
- lost wages
- property damage
In most bicycle accident cases an injured bike rider requires what amounts to extensive medical care and treatment. Medical treatment, including physical and occupational therapy, can carry forth into the future for an indefinite period of time. For this reason, compensation in a bicycle accident case needs to include financial recovery for ongoing medical care and treatment.
On a related note, the pain usually associated with bicycle accident injuries can be profound and enduring. There are instances in which pain associated with a bicycle accident is chronic and even persists for the remainder of a person’s life. This represents another area in which an injured biker can be entitled to compensation for future losses that reasonably can be anticipated.
An injured biker may not be able to return to work for an extended period of time. Indeed, there are innumerable examples each year of biked riders injured in accidents with automobiles who are never able to return to the jobs they held before the incident. This represents yet another type of loss for which compensation can be pursued in a bicycle accident case.
Bicycle Accident Wrongful Death Case
If you have lost a family member because of a bicycle accident involving the negligent driver of a motor vehicle, you may be able to pursue what is known as a wrongful death claim or wrongful death lawsuit. State law permits certain family members the ability to pursue or benefit from a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.
Examples of family members that can benefit from a wrongful death lawsuit include:
- spouse
- child
- parent
- sibling
The nature and extent of damages in a wrongful death case depend upon two primary factors. These are the circumstances surrounding an accident as well as the relationship between a surviving family member and a deceased loved one. Common types of compensation in a wrongful death bicycle accident case include:
- loss of companionship
- loss of consortium
- lost support or income
- mental anguish
- last medical bills and expenses
- funeral and burial costs
Retain a Bicycle Accident Attorney
A key element of protecting your legal rights and interests following a bicycle accident is retaining a bike accident lawyer. The first step in the process of hiring a bicycle accident lawyer is scheduling an initial consultation with legal counsel.
An initial consultation provides a bicycle accident attorney the opportunity to evaluate your case. In addition, you are able to raise any questions that you may have during this preliminary appointment with legal counsel. As a general rule, a bicycle accident will not charge you a fee for an initial consultation to discuss your case.
Bicycle Accident Attorney Fees
There are three common types of attorney fee arrangements: hourly, flat fee, and contingency. In the vast majority of bicycle accident cases, a personal injury lawyer utilized a contingency fee arrangement.
Pursuant to a contingency fee agreement, you pay no fee to a bicycle accident lawyer until he or she obtains a settlement of judgment in your favor. Before representation commences, you and an attorney reach a specific agreement regarding the amount that will be paid in attorney fees upon the successful completion of your case. The fee will be a reasonable percentage of a settlement or judgment in a case.
In the vast majority of cases, an injured bike rider obtains more in compensation if represented by a bicycle accident attorney, according to the American Bar Association. This is the case, even when attorney fees are taken into consideration.
