Bicycle accidents can result in devastating, life-altering injuries. Bicyclists have minimal protection in the event of a forceful collision with a larger vehicle. If you were injured in a bicycle accident in California, you should consult the California bicycle accident attorneys at the Knoll Law Group. Our bicycle injury lawyers represent victims statewide.
What Are Your Rights And Responsibilities As A Bicyclist?
Bicyclists have all the rights and are subject to all the legal provisions that apply to the drivers of larger vehicles, such as laws related to driving under the influence of alcohol. Like drivers of cars, they may need to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks at intersections. They must ride in the same direction as motor vehicle traffic. There are also special rules that apply to bicyclists. Bicyclists must use lights and reflectors when biking at night. They are also supposed to use bike lanes when bike lanes are available. Bicyclists under age 18 are supposed to wear a helmet.
The Rule Of Reasonable Care
Even when bicyclists follow the laws and rules of the road, they can be involved in serious accidents. They are particularly at risk of an accident at intersections or when drivers merge into traffic from the right. Drivers of cars and other vehicles owe bicyclists a duty to use reasonable care. You may be able to recover damages if a driver’s negligence caused your injuries. A bicycle accident attorney will need to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant owed you a duty to use reasonable care but did not use the care that was reasonable under the circumstances.
Drivers breach the duty to use reasonable care in many different situations, including by speeding, drunk driving, tailgating, weaving, failing to check blind spots, failing to yield, or failing to obey traffic signs and signals. If, for example, a speeding driver tried to overtake you in traffic and swerved into your bicycle, it is likely that a judge or jury would find that the driver failed to use reasonable care. Similarly, if you had the right of way through a green light, and a driver turning left failed to yield and drove into you, it is likely that a judge or jury would determine that the driver failed to use reasonable care.
How Can Our Bike Accident Attorneys in California Help?
Our team of bicycle accident injury attorneys is dedicated to helping individuals who have experienced life-altering bicycle accidents with their insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits. If you have recently suffered significant injuries or the tragic loss of a loved one in a bicycle accident, seeking legal assistance from a bike accident lawyer in California is crucial. Without proper representation, the insurance company of the at-fault driver might attempt to manipulate or pressure you into accepting an unjust settlement. Our personal injury attorneys in California are well-equipped to safeguard your interests during insurance negotiations, ensuring that you receive fair compensation for the losses you have suffered.
Recoverable Damages In A Bicycle Accident
Often, insurance adjusters for at-fault drivers try to show that bicyclists were partially or fully to blame for accidents. California follows the doctrine of comparative negligence. A jury asked to consider comparative negligence will listen to all the arguments and evidence presented by a bicycle accident attorney in California it will determine the total damages that you sustained, and it will assign each party a percentage of fault for the bicycle accident.
Your damages may be reduced by an amount equal to your percentage of fault. For example, if the total damages are $100,000, and you are found to be 30% at fault, you may be able to recover $70,000 from the driver. Our California bicycle accident lawyers know how to prevent insurers from unfairly exploiting this rule.
Bicycle accidents may result in serious or even fatal injuries to a bicyclist, even when the driver of a larger vehicle in an accident walks away without a scratch. Bicyclists may suffer traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, crushing injuries, broken bones, and contusions. The amount of damages that you may be able to recover depends on the severity of your injuries.
Generally, if our bicycle accident injury lawyer can establish liability, you should be able to recover compensatory damages. These can include both economic and non-economic damages, such as medical bills, lost income, replacement services, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, disfigurement, scarring, and pain and suffering. If a loved one died in a bicycle accident, you may be able to recover damages by bringing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Protect Your Right Of Way With Our Bicycle Injury Attorneys
For most people, it is difficult to deal with the aftermath of a bicycle accident. If you were injured in a bicycle accident in California, you should consult the best bicycle accident attorneys serving throughout California at the Knoll Law Group for advice and representation. Call us at (818) 610-0955 or complete our online form to discuss your case with your prospective bicycle accident lawyer in California.
