America’s Most Familiar Bicycle Accident Law Firm — Proven Bicycle Accident Lawyers
Many of our bicycle accident lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers regularly bike to commute to work or for recreation and exercise. We know that riding a bicycle on busy city streets can be an extremely perilous experience. If you bike frequently, you are well aware that many motorists consider bike rider as nothing more than an annoying impediment to the smooth flow of traffic. There are many dangers that can contribute to serious bicycle accidents, including inattentive and in different motorists, dog that are not properly secured on leashes or roadways that are not well maintained. Bicyclists faces an extremely high risk of being involved in a serious accident because they have virtually no protection against a collision and far more limited ability to avoid a potential collision with the driver of a passenger vehicle.
Our experienced bicycle accident attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers have successfully represented hundreds of bicycle accident victims in obtaining critical compensation for medical care, income replacement and other critical losses. Because bicycle riders are extremely vulnerable to injury in a collision with a motor vehicle, you may experience substantial physical pain, extensive medical treatment, difficult emotional challenges and staggering financial obstacles. The bike accident lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers understand these challenges and are prepared to handle the legal obstacles and insurance hassles so that you can focus on your recovery and taking care of your family.
Understanding the Vulnerability of Bicycle Riders
Bicyclists generally have the same rights to use streets and roads as other motor vehicles. Because many of our bicycle accident attorneys are bicycle enthusiasts, we know that many motorists do not respect the rights of bicyclists to share the use of our roadways with motor vehicles. When inconsiderate or careless drivers endanger the safety of bicyclists, the types of injuries suffered by bicycle enthusiasts are typically permanent and life-altering. Bicyclists face a substantial number of disadvantages involved in a potential collision with a motor vehicle including:
- Less maneuverability
- Minimal visibility and diminutive size
- No structural protection for riders
- Slower speed capacity which means less evasive ability
These inherent disadvantages mean that there is an increased risk of bicyclists being involved in a serious bicycle accident resulting in injuries. Hundreds of bike riders die, and almost 50,000 people are injured in serious bike accident collisions annually. If you ride your bike in an urban area, you are at a much greater risk as 70% of all bike accidents occur in urban centers. The good news is that many of the most serious injuries are preventable. Serious head injuries account for as much as 60 percent of all bicycle accident fatalities. However, a proper bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of suffering a head injury in a bicycle accident by as much as 85 percent.
Common Causes of Serious Bicycle Accidents
The same rules of the road that apply to cars, trucks and SUV also generally apply to bicyclists. While these rules are designed to provide safe driving practices and establish rules of the road, there is always a severe risk when small bicycles that may weigh less than a hundred pounds share the roadways with passenger vehicles that weigh at least 3,000 pounds. Most serious bicycle accidents are the result of drivers of passenger vehicles who ignore these rules of the road. While our bicycle accident attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers have handled hundreds of bicycle accident claims, the most common causes of bicycle accidents include the following:
- Inattentive drivers who are using cell phones or are otherwise distracted
- Motorists who fail to check their blind spots for bicyclists in adjacent lanes
- Drivers who are committing DUI/DWI
- Fatigued or sleepy drivers
- Drivers who crowd bicyclists or do not allow a sufficient distance when driving next to a bicycle
- Drivers of passenger vehicles that fail to check both directions when proceeding through an intersection
- Motorists who run stop signs or stop lights at intersections
- Design or manufacturing defects in a bicycle
- Drivers that cut-off bicyclists
- Dogs running at large
- Wet or icy roadways
While the dedicated and experienced bicycle accident attorneys at our law firm know that careless or inattentive drivers cause most bicycle accidents, there are other factors that can play a significant role in bicycle accidents. Sometimes defects in your bicycle can cause a bicycle accident. Bicycles and bicycle components have been the most dangerous consumer product by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s product safety index for years and remain one of the more dangerous products for children. While bicycle manufacturers have made many improvements in response to past unsafe bicycle features, there are still a fair number of product recalls for bicycles every year. The chain of a bicycle may lockup or the brakes may malfunction just to provide a couple examples of potential product defects that may contribute to a bicycle accident.
Dangerous roadways also contribute to a substantial number of bicycle accidents because even minor road defects can be extremely dangerous for someone on a bicycle. A minor pothole or other uneven pavement condition may be completely unnoticeable to a driver of a passenger vehicle but become deadly to a bicyclist when small tires become trapped in a pothole or other road imperfections.
Provided Tenacious Advocacy for Bicycle Crash Victims – Your Proven Bicycle Accident Law Firm
Our dedicated bicycle injury lawyers offer tenacious advocacy, exhaustive investigation of bicycle accidents, persuasive legal arguments and zealous courtroom advocacy. We are often able to negotiate a settlement with a driver’s insurance company, but we are committed to preparing the strongest case possible for trial. Because our bicycle accident law firm has been successfully assisting bicycle accident victims in obtaining substantial compensation for often catastrophic injuries since 1972, insurance carriers know we will not hesitate to proceed to trial if they do not offer an appropriate settlement to our clients.
If you suffer the types of serious injuries that are common in bicycle accidents, you may face significant financial challenges. While we cannot give you back your health, we can help you obtain the financial resources that you need to obtain the best medical care and maintain the highest quality of life. We routinely seek a wide range of damages on behalf of our bicycle accident clients including lost income, hospital and medical expenses, disability or disfigurement, pain and suffering, damage to your marital relationship and other types of compensation based on the specifics of your bicycle accident. We carefully investigate bicycle accident cases so that we can identify all parties that may be liable and develop the strongest theories of liability.
We invite you to contact us today to find out how Jacoby & Meyers can help you with all of your legal needs. We have offices nationwide, including Southern California, New York, Alabama, Florida, and Arizona so call us at 1-800-411-4LAW to see how we can help.
