Woodland Bicycle Accident Lawyer

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more and more Americans regularly ride a bicycle. Whether it is for commuting to work, running errands, getting exercise, or just for fun, riding a bike is a great way to get around and offers riders a unique experience with plenty of fresh air. However, riding a bicycle also comes with serious safety risks. Cyclists lack protection and are liable to receive major injuries in the event of an accident.

NHTSA statistics report that, on average, over 50,000 people in the United States are injured in bicycle accidents every year. Additionally, an average of over 800 people loses their lives after being involved in a cycling collision. Unfortunately, a large percentage of these traumatic accidents take place in California. The Governors Highway Safety Association recently released a report that found California a perilous state for cyclists. The report had several troubling findings, including the following:

• California is one of the leading states for bicyclist deaths per capita.
• Compared to the national average, Bicyclist fatalities accounted for about twice as many of the total number of collision-related deaths in California.
• Recent years have seen a significant increase in fatal bicycle/vehicle accidents across the state.

Although California has laws to protect cyclists and make it easier for them to share the road with motorists, around 30 percent of bicycle collisions involve a motor vehicle. These crashes are usually caused by careless errors made by drivers. Some of the more common ways that drivers cause accidents involving cyclists include:

• Failing to stop at a stop sign or red light.
• Opening vehicle doors without looking for oncoming bicyclists.
• Driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
• Failing to check for cyclists before changing lanes or making a turn.
• Failing to give cyclists the right-of-way.
• Driving while distracted.

As you probably expect, cyclists are almost always the party that suffers more severe injuries when bicycles collide with motor vehicles. Due to the significant difference in weight between bikes and sedans, SUVs, trucks, and other vehicles, cyclists often suffer life-altering trauma when a crash occurs. Some of the serious injuries that cyclists are liable to suffer include:

• Bone fractures
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord trauma
• Nerve damage
• Amputation injuries
• Head injuries (such as contusions, concussions, and skull fractures)

Many of these injuries drastically affect people’s lives and can take years to recover from. In some cases, the symptoms of these injuries may never go away completely, meaning that injured individuals need a lifetime of medical care.

Watch YouTube Video: Bike Safety - Safe Cycling Tips for Adults. This short video by AAA provides valuable tips for safe cycling.

If you or a person you love was injured in a cycling accident, taking legal action as soon as you can is vitally important. The sooner an attorney begins collecting evidence and preparing your case, the more capable they are to prevent responsible parties from disclaiming responsibility. Even if you are unsure whether or not you need legal representation, a Woodland bicycle accident lawyer with experience handling injury cases will be able to help you understand what you may be owed. Most lawyers will offer you a free consultation where you can get valuable information about the details of your case. If you’d like to speak with me, you can call my local number, (530) 392-9400, so that we can talk about what legal options are available to you.

Suffering a catastrophic injury often means expensive medical bills as well as lost income. Many people are even left unable to return to their job. However, most of the expenses related to your accident can be recovered in a personal injury claim. Recoverable personal injury damages include:

• Pain and Suffering (including therapy and treatment for emotional trauma such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder).
• Lost wages and/or income as well as loss of earning potential.
• Repairs to your bicycle and any other damaged property.
• Medical costs related to the accident including physical therapy, medications, surgeries, and more.

Many people are surprised to find out that they must prove that they were injured and that the defendant was negligent to receive compensation. This is understandable because cyclists, in many cases, did nothing wrong and were simply enjoying riding their bikes when a reckless driver struck them. However, the civil justice system has certain requirements for filing personal injury claims, and if you are missing a requirement, your chances of receiving compensation are limited. These requirements are:

1. Defendant Owed a Duty of Care
2. The Defendant Breached their Duty of Care
3. You Received Injuries
4. Those Injuries were Proximately Caused by the Defendant's Negligence

All of these requirements need to be met based on the preponderance of case evidence. This basically means that the evidence needs to tilt slightly in your favor for you to obtain financial compensation through a personal injury claim. This is another excellent example of why hiring a skilled, experienced, and competent Woodland bicycle accident lawyer is essential. A good attorney will know how to convince courts to award you full compensation. While most cases don’t go to trial and are settled in private negotiations, having a strong case prepared is important in convincing insurers to pay you a fair amount for your losses.

I’m Ed Smith, a Woodland bicycle accident lawyer who has over three decades of experience representing the victims of traumatic accidents who’ve suffered critical injuries. Please contact our injury attorneys today at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400 to get our free, friendly legal advice. We are ready to begin helping you and your family obtain the financial recovery that you deserve.

To learn about how we've previously helped our valued clients check out the reviews on Google, Yelp, and Avvo. For more information, read through the Verdicts and Settlements our personal injury lawyers have obtained on behalf of our clientele.

We're a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. This forum comprises top-rated lawyers who’ve resolved a case worth over $1,000,000 in value for a client.

Editor’s Note: This page has been updated for accuracy and relevancy [cha 6.4.21]

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