For a bicycling enthusiast, the exhilaration of a long ride on a beautiful day can be abruptly replaced with desperate fear, shocking pain, and even catastrophic injuries, when a bicycle accident occurs. Various sources can cause biking accident injuries. Safety equipment can fail to perform as advertised, or mechanical failure of brakes, tires, or chains, can cause severe bicycle crashes that lead to injury. Statistically, though, the great majority of injuries to cyclists are caused by bicycle collisions with motor vehicles.

A bicycle rider or bicycle passenger is more likely to sustain severe injuries or even death from a bicycle accident with a motor vehicle than from a bike wreck caused by any other source. Physically, in an unexpected contest between bicycle and motor vehicle, the bigger, heavier motor vehicle wins. The relatively unprotected bicyclist may suffer everything from bumps and bruises to broken bones, torn ligaments, dislocated joints, spinal cord injuries, permanent scarring, or even brain damage, a temporary or permanent loss of the ability to work, and potentially harsh pain and other suffering.

Know Your Rights if You Are Injured in a Bicycling Accident

A bicycle accident attorney is a personal injury attorney who knows your rights under bike laws and is experienced in bicycle accident cases, seeking just compensation for victims of bicycle crashes that were caused by the negligence of another person.  If you or a passenger on your bicycle are injured in a bicycle accident caused by someone who failed to exercise reasonable care for your safety, a bicycle accident attorney can explain your legal rights and the legal impact of your situation, and he may be able to help you obtain payment of money damages to compensate you for:

• Your medical expenses incurred to treat your injuries.
• Your lost wages, when your injuries force you to miss work.
• Your pain and suffering endured because of someone’s carelessness.

A bad bicycle wreck can injure you severely, preventing you from working just when you need money the most, while you are incurring sometimes enormous medical expenses and other costs resulting from your injuries.  If your family relies strongly on your income, the loss of your ability to work can be a financial catastrophe.  A bicycling accident law attorney can’t stop your injuries from hurting, but your attorney can help comfort your family by ensuring that you receive the money you’re entitled to.

Careless Motor Vehicle Drivers

Many motor vehicle drivers don’t bother to educate themselves on the rules of the road that relate to bicyclists, or they engage in risky, dangerous driving tactics, carelessly disregarding the safety of bicyclists lawfully using the road, by “tailgating” bicycles, passing bikes at excessive speeds, or cutting off bicyclists at precariously close range.  When careless driving or a motorist’s violation of a traffic or safety regulation causes a vehicle to hit your bicycle, the motorist can be held responsible for your injuries.

Monetary damages to compensate you for being hit by a car while riding a bicycle will likely be paid by the driver’s automobile liability insurance carrier.  If you are contacted by an insurance adjustor after an accident, tell them you don’t want to give a statement or sign any documents before you’ve had opportunity to consult with an attorney.  Regardless of the title, documents presented to you may contain wording that places you at fault in the accident or releases the person at fault from liability.

The law expects you take reasonable care for your own safety, as well, and if you don’t, the law of comparative fault may reduce the compensation you’re entitled to.  You should always ride carefully, especially if you are carrying a passenger or a child with you, and observe all traffic and bicycle safety guidelines.  Wearing appropriate safety equipment while riding a bicycle in traffic is incredibly important for your own safety.

If you carry a passenger or child on your bicycle, passengers should wear proper safety equipment, too.  While no amount of safety equipment can completely protect cyclists from injuries in a bike wreck with a car, the lack of safety equipment may result in more serious injuries, and legally, it could lessen the amount of compensation owed to you by the driver.

Never make a judgment call on your own fault at the scene of the accident.  Avoid making statements to a police officer, emergency personnel, or anyone else, indicating that the wreck was your fault or that you caused the accident to happen.  Many factors play into a final determination of legal liability.  Save those thoughts for a consultation with a seasoned personal injury attorney who is experienced with bicycle accident law.  Even if you did lose the physical contest with a motor vehicle, your attorney will do everything possible to help you win the legal contest with its driver and obtain the much-needed compensation you’re entitled to receive.