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Bicycle Accident Lawyer - Cyclist Injury Compensation Claims

LAWYER HELPLINE: 855 804 7125

Bicycle accidents in Canada claim hundreds of lives and cause thousands of injuries every year. Cyclists are particularly vulnerable because they are not easily visible, have little or no protection and must share the road with motor vehicles. If you are involved in a cycle accident and don’t know if it was your fault or not, seek the advice of a bicycle accident lawyer to see what your rights are. Most of the time the consultation is free and you only pay the lawyer when you have won the claim and been awarded a financial settlement. Most cyclists are not insured and they must seek compensation from another party.

Serious Injuries

Several serious things can happen to you if you are involved in a cycle accident. You can sustain a head injury, even if you have been wearing a helmet. A head injury can involve a contusion to the brain, a bleed within the brain or a stroke. You can be unconscious for a brief period of time or for a long period of time. A head injury is almost always a serious matter and some people do not recover fully. In such cases, compensation is needed, not only for the pain and suffering of the injury, but also to help take care of the cyclist for the rest of their life or until they recover so they can live independently which can take many years. A bicycle accident lawyer can assist you to make a compensation claim to obtain a financial settlement from a negligent third party.

Potential Paralysis

Back and neck injuries can result from a bike injury. This is especially true if a person goes head over the handlebars and hits the ground. The neck may hyper-flex and the vertebrae can break. Long term severe neck pain or paralysis can result from this type of incident. In the case of paralysis the victim may require round the clock nursing care for the rest of their lives. Neck injuries and head injuries are common in accidents involving cyclists. There is very little protection for the neck in bicycle accidents. There is slightly more protection for the back, but depending on the fall, the back can be seriously injured. Bicycle accidents can be tragic, with severe injury and loss of life. There can be permanent disability as a result of a cyclist accident because the cyclist is very open to the elements and has little protection around them.

Bone Fractures

Broken bones are common in bike injuries. If you fall on your outstretched hand, you can get a wrist or forearm injury. If you fall on your side, you can get a hip fracture or leg fracture. Broken bones usually heal well but can lead to residual pain, limping or loss of function of the affected area. This kind of injury caused by the negligence of a third party needs financial compensation.

Negligent Act

Cyclists are particularly vulnerable as they share the street with motor vehicles which can cause serious injury. Some personal injury cases involving bicycles involve direct collisions with motor vehicles. In these cases it must be proven that the other driver acted negligently. There can be litigation if the cyclist fell in the act of trying to avoid a collision. A bicycle accident lawyer can assist you to make a compensation claim to obtain a financial settlement from a negligent third party.

Road Surface

The authorities can be at fault if they fail to correct faults in the road surface. This can include pot holes, deep crevices in the road or irregularities in the road surface that could have been repaired and could have prevented the accident. It is the responsibility of the authority to maintain the roads properly so that the road does not cause a bicycle accident. Debris on the road should also be picked up by the authority so that it doesn’t interfere with the bicycle pathway.

Under Reporting

Bicycle accidents are severely under-reported. If the cyclist is uninjured, the police do not usually make a report. In most cases, it is the driver of the car or truck that is at fault in the injury. In addition a large percentage of cycle accidents are the result of hit and run drivers and few ever get caught or prosecuted.

Accident Scenario

The majority of accidents occur in the following situations: The cyclist can turn right into a stream of traffic and get hit by an unsuspecting motorist. The motorist can fail to see the bicyclist and can turn into the path of the cyclist. The motorist can edge into the path of the cyclists, not seeing the cyclist on the side of the road or in a bike lane. The motorist can ride into the path of the cyclist when the cyclist is not on the pavement but is on a side walk or bike path. The bicyclist can be driving faster than the vehicle and can be struck from behind, especially at night if no lights are on the bike. The motorist can fail to give the cyclist the right of way at right angles on a junction and can strike the bicyclist.

Personal Protection

Bicyclists must do all they can to avoid or mitigate a bicycle/motor vehicle accident. They must wear protective gear, such as gloves and a helmet and must wear bright clothing. At night, they need a front light to see with and a rear light to warn motorists that a cyclist is on the road. Cyclists are at grave danger of being injured in an accident, so they should do everything possible to minimize the risk of a collision.

Evidence Preservation

So what should a cyclist do if he or she is injured as a result of a bicycle injury? They should get the license plate number of the vehicle involved and should call the police. A police report should be generated as this can help in the litigation. The cyclist should be seen in the emergency room in order to document their injuries. Pictures should be taken of the injuries if at all possible. There should be pictures of the site where the accident occurred, including pictures of signs and a picture of the damaged bicycle. These should be done as soon as possible after the accident has occurred. A bicycle accident lawyer can assist you to make a compensation claim to obtain a financial settlement from a negligent third party.

Specialist Lawyer

You should take this information to a bicycle litigation lawyer and tell your story about the accident. The lawyer can then decide if you have a case against anyone else involved in the accident, whether it be another motorist, another cyclist or the authority that maintains the roads.

Settlement

The law suit filed on your behalf may be settled out of court. This means the other party (or their insurer) agrees to pay you a sum of money to make up for your injuries without having to go through the court process. If an agreement cannot be reached, the case goes to a court of law and you must tell your story in the court. A decision will be made on whether or not you should receive payment for you injuries and how much payment you should receive. Remember, in these cases, you do not have to pay a lawyer unless you win the case. The lawyer takes a certain percentage of the fee you get from the defendant.

Defensive Riding

Even if you wear protective gear and use the proper lighting for night time bicycle use, you can still be involved in an accident which causes injury. Many times, motorists just aren’t looking for bicyclists and hit them unnecessarily because they are distracted and do not see you. There can be an obstruction of a motorist’s view that makes it difficult for them to see the cyclist. For these reasons, cyclists must be very defensive drivers, always on the lookout for what other travelers are doing.

Legal Requirements

As a cyclist, it is expected that you follow all traffic laws the same way as a car. This means that you should stop at stop signs and stop lights and that you follow in the direction of traffic. Too many cyclists fail to follow all the traffic signs and laws and this can impair their ability to get compensation if they get into an accident. If it can be shown that the cyclists was not following the rules, he or she may not receive any compensation or the compensation can be reduced because it may be shown that their failure was the cause or part of the cause of the accident.

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