The insurance company has a legal team to save them money after YOU have an accident. They would rather pay their lawyers than pay you fairly for your injury claim.
The insurance company has a legal team to save them money after YOU have an accident. They would rather pay their lawyers than pay you fairly for your injury claim.
San Diego is consistently ranked as one of the top cities in the country for bicyclists. One survey put “America’s Finest City” as ninth overall in a survey of bicycle-friendly cities. A favorable environment for bicyclists can be a double-edged sword. More cyclists also mean more accidents. Notwithstanding the safety measures that San Diego has instituted, drivers are getting worse. You may be entitled to substantial financial compensation if you or a loved one have suffered an injury in a bicycle accident.
You must take action to be compensated for your bicycle accident injuries. You and your family need to be protected, so you cannot take anything for granted. It is not a time to take any chances, nor is it a time to delay. Even though you may be preoccupied with your injury, you can still take action. All you have to do is hire an experienced San Diego bicycle accident lawyer. It does not cost you anything to speak with an attorney, and you owe nothing unless you win your case.
Your bicycle accident compensation depends on your ability to prove that the driver who hit you was negligent. Not every bicycle accident is the driver’s fault by virtue of it happening. Instead, the obligation is on you to show that the driver did something that an ordinary driver would not have done.
Here are some examples of driver negligence that could put you in a position to receive financial compensation:
Each year, roughly 50,000 bicyclists are injured in crashes. Many of these injuries occur when cyclists are hit by cars. Depending on the angle of the accident, the bicyclist will fall across the hood of the car and hit the windshield, or they will be thrown onto the pavement. Either way, there is a high likelihood that the bicyclist will suffer a catastrophic injury.
These injuries will include:
While wearing a helmet can lower the risk of a serious brain injury, it does not completely eliminate the risk.
Negligence is never assumed, and it must be proven. You must assemble the case that would show a jury or insurance company that there is an obligation to pay you. However, you are not exactly in the best position to do it yourself.
Your attorney may use the following to prove that you are owed money:
The first California law you need to be aware of after a bicycle accident is the state’s statute of limitations to file a lawsuit, which is two years from when you were injured. Ideally, you would begin your case far before the deadline.
The second California law to know is the state’s comparative negligence law, which allows you to receive a payment as long as you were less than 100% to blame for the bicycle accident. On the surface, this law is good news, but it also opens the door for the insurance company to try to blame you somewhat to reduce the amount of money that you can receive.
No lawyer should ever tell you what your case is worth before reviewing the exact specifics of your case. We can tell you that there is a chance that your case could be worth a lot of money because of the severity of your injuries. Unlike car accident victims, bicyclists do not have anything to protect them from the impact of a car or the pavement. There is a much greater chance that a bicyclist has suffered a serious injury than a motorist.
You can be paid for both the money that has come out of your pocket and the awful experience that you continue to deal with after the bicycle accident. Economic damages include current and future lost earnings and medical bills. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, depression, and your loss of enjoyment of life.
You can file a lawsuit under wrongful death laws if you have lost a family member in a bicycle accident. California has recently changed its laws to allow families to recover financially for their loved one’s pain and suffering as part of a wrongful death lawsuit.
The insurance company tries to make your life more difficult than it should be after an accident.
Here are some of their common tactics that are aimed at costing you money:
Hiring an experienced lawyer can help protect you from the way that the insurance company tries to do business. Your lawyer will handle the details of your case, and they will be the ones who deal with the insurance company. The knowledge that you have a tough lawyer on your side is often enough to make the insurance company act more fairly.
If you or a loved one have suffered an injury in a bicycle accident, the lawyers at DPI Injury Attorneys can help. Your first step is to contact us online to schedule an appointment. We will learn more about your case and walk you through your legal options. We will fight for you aggressively and determinedly to get you the money you deserve.
Start today with a free case review
Put the bullies on notice that you are taking your life back.
We will collect and submit evidence to be used in court
Attempt a mutual agreement without rolling over
No agreement? Let’s take it to trial
… that you are hurting…
… to shoulder that burden alone…
… to be taken advantage of…
Not wearing a helmet could reduce your financial recovery, but it likely would not eliminate it entirely, so long as the driver was at least partially to blame for the accident.
You are not out of luck. You can file a claim against your own car insurance policy, assuming that you have underinsured motorist coverage.
No. You are considered a motor vehicle, but that would not change things so long as the driver of the car was negligent.
The realistic answer is that your case should take as long as necessary for you to get what you are legally entitled to after someone else’s wrongful actions harmed you.