The exceptional weather and coastal views in Monterey and throughout the County is great for cycling. There are many routes you can enjoy on a bike, whether for exercise, transportation, or simply exploring the area.
However, bicycle accidents can occur anytime and happen to anyone. In most instances, these accidents occur when people drive carelessly or recklessly around bicycles, and cyclists can suffer life-changing injuries.
If you or a person you love has recently suffered an injury in a bicycle accident, you should speak with a knowledgeable Monterey bicycle accident lawyer as quickly as possible.
The skilled legal team at Silva Injury Law, Inc. can help you file a personal injury claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company and litigate your case in the court system if that step becomes necessary. We can aggressively fight for your legal rights every step of the way and work hard to maximize your total monetary recovery.
Please contact us today for a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a knowledgeable Monterey bicycle accident lawyer.
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.
Factors That Affect Monetary Compensation in a Monterey Bicycle Accident Claim or Lawsuit
Numerous factors can affect the monetary compensation you recover in a bicycle accident claim or lawsuit. Those factors include the circumstances of your bicycle accident, the force involved in a collision, the severity of the emotional and physical losses that you had to experience, whether you suffered a permanent or disfiguring injury, whether you may need to undergo a medical procedure in the future, and whether your injuries affect your ability to work at the same job.
At Silva Injury Law, Inc., our knowledgeable Monterey bicycle accident lawyers understand that different accident victims may be eligible to recover various types and amounts of monetary compensation. Our legal team can help you form realistic expectations about the financial damages you can recover in your case. We will then set about helping you maximize these damages through a favorable settlement or personal injury litigation.
Filing a Timely Bicycle Accident Lawsuit in the California Court System
Bicycle accident victims in California have a limited time to file a personal injury lawsuit for monetary damages. That time period begins to run on the accident date and expires precisely two years later.
In the absence of minimal exceptions, if you fail to file your bicycle accident lawsuit within two years, you will be unable to recover monetary compensation later on down the line. Therefore, you should retain an experienced Monterey bicycle accident lawyer to represent you from the outset of your case.
At Silva Injury Law, Inc., our experienced legal team understands the importance of complying with the two-year statute of limitations for bicycle accident cases. We can promptly file a claim or lawsuit in your case, safeguarding your right to recover fair monetary compensation and damages for your injuries.
What Happens During the Claims-filing Process in My Case?
Before filing a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company in a bicycle accident case, a personal injury lawyer will typically need to investigate your accident circumstances. In doing this, your attorney may retain an accident reconstructionist or another expert who can speak with witnesses, and you, about how the accident happened. An expert can also visit the scene of the bicycle crash, review police reports, and piece together how the accident occurred and who caused it.
If you can file a bicycle accident claim, our experienced legal team can help you throughout every step of the process. First, we can submit a settlement demand package to the insurance company adjuster handling your claim. A demand package will include a letter that makes a monetary settlement demand, along with various documents that may serve as future evidence in your case.
Those documents may include copies of investigation reports, witness statements, property damage photographs, injury photographs, medical records, medical bills, and lost wage documentation from your employer. In fact, the insurance adjuster will use all of this information to decide whether to accept liability for your bicycle accident. They will also use these documents when evaluating your claim from a monetary perspective.
Even in bicycle accident cases where the injured victim suffered severe injuries, the first offer that an insurance company makes is usually well below the total value of the case. After all, insurance company adjusters are not going to make their top offer right away. They want to see if the accident victim is in a hurry to resolve their claim and if so, will resolve the case for a low settlement number.
Our knowledgeable legal team has the experience and skills necessary to negotiate aggressively with insurance company adjusters in pursuit of a fair monetary value for your case. We can highlight the strengths of your case when negotiating with adjusters and pursue a fair deal that genuinely compensates you for your injuries and other losses.
What Happens During Litigation in a Bicycle Accident Case?
Bicycle accident cases typically proceed to litigation under one of two circumstances. First, if the insurance company denies fault for your bicycle accident, your lawyer may have no choice but to file a lawsuit on your behalf in the court system. Alternatively, personal injury lawyers file lawsuits in bicycle accident cases when the insurance company refuses to offer the accident victim fair monetary damages.
To begin the litigation process, we can file a formal lawsuit with the court, after which a lawyer may enter an appearance on behalf of the at-fault driver. During litigation, the parties will engage in a process known as discovery, during which time they will exchange answers to written questions and take one another’s depositions. The court may also encourage settlement discussions while this process is ongoing.
If the case has not reached its resolution by the end of the litigation process, the parties may take their case to a civil jury trial, at which time the jury will decide who caused the accident and what, if any, monetary damages they should award the injured cyclist. As an alternative to a jury trial, the parties may consider one of several alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, such as binding arbitration or mediation.
At Silva Injury Law, Inc., our legal team can help you make knowledgeable and informed decisions throughout your case during both the settlement and litigation processes.
Contact a Monterey Bicycle Accident Attorney About Your Legal Matter Right Away
In a bicycle accident claim, as with any other personal injury legal matter, time is of the essence. You should promptly retain legal help as quickly as possible, ensuring you safeguard your right to recover monetary damages for your injuries. At Silva Injury Law, Inc., we can begin working on your case right away and pursuing the total financial damages you deserve to recover. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer.
If the insurance company denies fault in your case or refuses to compensate you fairly, we welcome the opportunity to litigate your case through the court system and take your legal matter to trial, mediation, or binding arbitration.
For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with an experienced Monterey bicycle accident attorney, please call us at (831) 471-5060 or contact us online today.
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“I cannot say enough good things about Silva Injury Law. Everyone starting with the front desk were very professional, honest and hardworking. Michael and his team worked diligently to make sure everything went as quickly and as smooth as possible. Silva Injury Law genuinely care about their clients and I would highly recommend them.”-Vallerie Rosas
Promoting Healing Through Compassionate Advocacy
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