What Are Some Common Bicycle Accident Injuries?
Bicycles, unlike cars and trucks, offer their riders minimal protection. Moreover, when cyclists fall off their bikes, their helmets may crack, and they can still sustain a severe injury, such as a concussion. When a bicycle rider falls to the ground during a collision, they may sustain a soft tissue contusion, a broken bone, rib fracture, spinal cord injury, paralysis injury, road rash injury, internal organ damage, dislocation, laceration, or traumatic head and brain injury.
While some of these injuries heal in a relatively short time, others may result in permanent complications, including disabilities or disfigurements.
If you sustained any of these injuries in a bicycle accident, you should receive prompt medical treatment, such as in a hospital emergency room. Same-day medical treatment is preferable because untreated injuries can become far worse as time progresses. In addition, if you fail to seek same-day medical treatment for your injuries, the insurance company may hold the opinion that your injuries are not all that serious.
While you focus your attention on making a full recovery from your injuries, the experienced Monterey bicycle accident attorneys at Silva Injury Law, Inc. can begin handling the legal parts of your case. We can start gathering your medical records and bills, as well as lost wage documentation from your employer, and begin preparing a settlement demand package on your behalf.
Once you complete your medical treatment, we can start negotiating with the insurance company adjuster to pursue a favorable monetary recovery in your case.
How Do We Prove Negligence In A Bicycle Accident?
Bicycle accident victims have the sole legal burden of proof in a personal injury claim or lawsuit. Therefore, they must prove four legal components of their case to be eligible for monetary compensation. These four elements include duty, breach, causation, and damages.
First, an accident victim’s lawyer must demonstrate that the responsible driver owed them a legal duty of care. This element is relatively easy to establish since all motor vehicle drivers owe a duty of reasonable care to other drivers, bicycle riders, and pedestrians. For example, vehicle drivers have a duty to operate a vehicle carefully and safely and to refrain from intoxicated or distracted driving maneuvers. They also have a duty to follow all traffic laws and regulations while driving.
Next, your lawyer must demonstrate that the at-fault driver violated their legal duty of care. For example, they may have been speeding, engaging in distracted driving, disregarding a right-of-way law, or operating their vehicle while intoxicated. In addition, you must demonstrate that the at-fault driver’s negligence was the actual unforeseeable cause of your bicycle accident.
Finally, your lawyer must show that you suffered at least one physical injury as a direct result of the accident. To prove this medical causation, your lawyer can call upon a treating medical provider or another healthcare expert to show that the accident was the cause of your injuries. Medical testimony is often necessary in bicycle accident cases because insurance companies will often try to show that the accident victim’s injuries resulted from pre-existing injuries or medical conditions rather than the bicycle accident.
The knowledgeable Monterey bicycle accident attorneys at Silva Injury Law, Inc. can help you prove the legal elements of your case and retain the necessary experts to testify at a deposition or at a civil jury trial. We will do everything possible to maximize your monetary compensation, ensuring that it is fair and reasonable.
What Damages Can I Recover In My Bicycle Accident Case?
Victims of bicycle accidents that resulted from another driver’s negligence may be eligible for various types of monetary recovery. The types and amounts of monetary damages you can pursue in your case will depend upon multiple factors, including the circumstances of your bicycle accident and the severity of your injuries.
First, you may recover economic damages to compensate you for out-of-pocket losses. Those losses may include medical expenses like hospitalization fees, medication, and surgeries. Other monetary damages in a claim or lawsuit can consist of compensation for your property damage as well as lost wages if you had to miss time from work. If you had to switch to light duty work or switch careers due to your bicycle accident injuries, you can file a loss of earning capacity claim in the event you had to take a pay cut.
In addition to these economic damages, you may also be eligible to recover non-economic damages for your injuries. These compensate accident victims for intangible losses like permanent disfigurement or disability, mental distress, reduced quality of life, loss of the ability to use a body part, and loss of spousal companionship or consortium.
Since bicycle accident injuries affect different accident victims in different ways, the types and amounts of monetary damages you can recover in your case will vary depending upon the situation.
At Silva Injury Law, Inc., our experienced Monterey bicycle accident lawyers will work hard to maximize your monetary damages by highlighting the strength of your case and downplaying any weaknesses of your case during settlement negotiations and litigation proceedings.
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