Bicycle Accident Settlement Information
Bicycle Accident Settlement and Claims
Riding a bicycle is a sport to some, a way to exercise, or a fun way to spend time with friends and family. Some people use bicycles as their main method of transportation to get from home to school or work. Many people ride bikes every day. And it is an unfortunate reality that sometimes, bicycle riders are involved in accidents with motor vehicles. If you find yourself dealing with the aftermath of a bicycle accident, you may be wondering if you are eligible for a bicycle accident settlement.
Learn more about the steps you should take after a bicycle accident and how to file for a car accident settlement that will cover all your expenses and lost income.
- How Much Is Your Car Accident Settlement Worth?
Find out the maximum compensation you could receive.
- How Much Is My Car Accident Settlement Worth?
How Do I Get a Bicycle Accident Settlement?
If you are hit by a car while on a bike, the first priority is your health and safety. A bicycle involved car accident can lead to some serious injuries for the cyclist. If you are struck by a vehicle while riding a bicycle, you should call 911. Allow medical professionals to assess your injuries and if you are able to, speak with the police about what happened. You will want a copy of the police report later, so make sure you give them the facts of what happened.
Once your injuries are tended to and a police report has been filed, you will want to file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. You may want to find a personal injury attorney to help you communicate with the insurance company. Draft a demand letter, outlining the details of the accident and state your demands. Don’t jump at the first offer that the insurance company offers. They likely are offering a smaller amount than you are actually entitled to. You attorney can advise you on what a fair amount would be.
When making a bicycle accident claim, it is important to have a complete understanding of your injuries and how your health is affected from the crash. If you are still healing from you injuries, you don’t want to make your demands too soon. Wait until you are healed and you know if there are any permanent changes to your body as a result of the car accident. Filing too soon could mean that your bicycle accident settlement is less than the amount you could have received.
To get the most bike accident compensation, follow these bicycle accident claim tips:
- Give a copy of all medical records pertaining to your bicycle accident injuries to your lawyer.
- Go to all of your medical appointments, follow all medical advice given to you by professionals.
- Document your daily life and how your bike accident injuries have changed your ability to live your life normally.
- Stay off of social media. Do not post anything about the case, but also keep in mind that the insurance company may use social media posts against you if they can argue that you are not suffering or injured as you claim.
What is the Legal Process After a Bike Accident?
When you are in a bicycle/car accident, you will likely file a claim with the at fault driver’s insurance company. This is the most common way to get a bicycle accident settlement. Or, if the driver fled the scene or does not have insurance, you may have to file a claim with your own insurance company. Regardless of whose insurance company you have to go through, you will want to compile a list of damages. This means, in what ways have you been impacted by the bike accident. Some of the damages you can likely claim are medical bills, lost wages from missing work, and any other financial hardships that are a direct result from the accident.
You can also claim damages that are intangible. This covers your pain and suffering or your loss of ability to do things that were a part of your normal life prior to the bike accident. These intangible or non-economic losses can be hard to prove and challenging to put a dollar amount on. A personal injury lawyer can help you put together a thorough list of damages and give you a more accurate idea of how much your bicycle accident claim payout may be.
- How Much Is Your Car Accident Settlement Worth?
Find out the maximum compensation you could receive.
- How Much Is My Car Accident Settlement Worth?
Once your claim is filed and your demands are presented, there may be an investigation process. The insurance may accept your demands, or they may offer a counteroffer. Negotiations can take time. If you are unable to reach an agreement with the insurance company, you may opt to go through arbitration.
An alternative to the claims process is to file a lawsuit. You can name the at-fault driver as the defendant. It is also possible to name other parties or entities as defendants as well. For example, if the bicycle/car accident was partially due to potholes in the bike lane you were using, you can sue the organization responsible for maintaining the roads.
What is an Average Bicycle Accident Settlement?
It isn’t really possible to offer an average car accident compensation amount for cyclists hit by cars. This is because each case is different. The details and circumstances around your bicycle accident influence your claim and the bicycle accident claim payout that you can expect.
Keep in mind that when you are filing a claim with an insurance company, your auto accident settlement can be limited by the policies in place. If the at-fault driver has a max of $50,000 on their policy, that may be the maximum that you are able to receive. It is possible to file a claim with your own insurance company if you are in need of more money than the payout total. A bicycle accident attorney can help you get the money that you need to cover your damages.
- Speak to a Car Accident Attorney
- Fast, Free & Confidential!
Bicycle Accident Settlement Amount Examples
It is not practical to compare your bicycle accident case to someone else’s, as there are many factors that effects what the settlement ends up being. Your own bike accident claim payout could be more or less than what others have received.
$20,000 Bike/Car Accident Settlement
A bicyclist was clipped by a passing car while using a crosswalk. The rider fell from his bike, dislocating his shoulder and fracturing his finger. His injuries did not require surgery, but his attorney was able to get him a larger settlement by claiming pain and suffering.
$50,000 Bike/Car Accident Settlement
The driver of a sedan failed to yield to a cyclist while making a right hand turn. The car struck the bicycle, knocking the cyclist onto the road. The rider suffered from a broken arm and broken ribs when he when he was struck by the car, in addition to minor cuts and bruises. The driver of the car did not have insurance, so the cyclist was able to file with his own insurance company to cover his medical expenses and pain and suffering.
$90,000 Bicycle/Pedestrian Accident Settlement
A woman was walking with her daughter on a sidewalk when a bicyclist sped past, knocking the woman down. The woman struck her head on the sidewalk, causing her to lose consciousness. She ultimately suffered a concussion from the crash and had debilitating headaches as a result. The bicyclist did not stop at the time of the accident, but was later identified. The woman filed a lawsuit against that cyclist, claiming her headaches affected her daily life and her daughter was emotional impacted by the accident. The cyclist settled before the lawsuit went to trial.
Bicycle Accident Settlement Calculator:
Getting an exact settlement amount is hard to do without the help of a personal injury lawyer. But if you are trying to get a rough estimate, you can use our free Car Accident Settlement Calculator. Remember that an online calculator cannot take certain factors into consideration, so your settlement may look different.
Get Legal Help For Your Bicycle Accident Settlement
Bike accident injuries are often severe. When you are riding a bicycle, put safety at the forefront of your mind.
If a car hit and injured you, talk to a personal injury attorney listed at Lawsuit Info Center today for a complimentary consultation. You could be eligible for compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
- What’s my car accident settlement worth?
- Find out in less than 60 Seconds!
Bicycle Accident Settlements
Whether or not you can sue someone for hitting you with their car comes down to who was at fault. Many assume that if a driver hits a pedestrian or biker, the driver is automatically at fault. This is sometimes but not always true.
Drivers are required to yield for pedestrians and bikers at marked crosswalks and in various other situations that are stated in that state’s vehicle code. Drivers also are required to obey traffic signals and all speed limits posted. If a pedestrian is hit by a car when the driver is violating the law, then it is clear the driver was at fault. But some of these accidents are less clear cut.
Also, you must have suffered an injury to file a claim or to file a lawsuit against the driver who hit you. Usually, you would file a claim with the driver’s insurance company; a lawsuit is usually a last resort when the negotiation process breaks down.
Next, did the driver stop at the scene of the accident? If so, pursuing a claim with the driver’s insurance company should be fairly straightforward. But if it was a hit and run, it may be harder to file the claim as sometimes the driver is never found. In this situation, you could file a claim on your own policy if you have uninsured/underinsured driver insurance.
So, yes, you usually can sue the driver who hit you, if he was to blame, you suffered an injury, and he stopped at the scene and gave you his contact and insurance information.
Injuries suffered in bicycling accidents often are serious. You do not have the luxury of being protected by a heavy vehicle, so injuries can be very serious to even life threatening in some accidents.The rate of fatalities in auto accidents is much higher for bicycle accidents or any pedestrian hit by a car, since there is so little
The most common injury suffered in bicycle accidents is head injuries and concussions from car accidents with bikes. Head injuries also comprise approximately 60% of biking fatalties. So, if you bike, you absolutely need to make sure that you have a good helmet. It really can save your life.
Other common biking accident injuries are:
- Fractured bones
- Dislocated joints
- Muscle strains
- Road rash
- Dental fractures and tooth loss
- Soft tissue injuries
- Facial contusions
- Neck injuries
- Broken collar bone
- Blunt trauma to abdomen or groin
If you have been in a biking accident, make certain you are taken to the ER immediately for a medical evaluation.
It is common to wonder if your auto insurance will cover your injuries and property damages in a bike accident. You could have serious injuries and your bike could be destroyed, so this is not a minor issue. While every insurance policy is somewhat different, it is likely your policy will cover a bicycle accident if the following are true:
- The accident should involve a motor vehicle of some kind. It actually does not matter most of the time if you were on a bike, in a car, ATV or something else. At least one of the vehicles involved needs to be a motor vehicle. In that case, your auto insurance should cover your damages.
- The accident was the fault of the driver. If the accident was your fault, it is likely your auto insurance provider will deny the claim. If you are 50% at fault for the accident, it is likely the auto insurance policy would cover 50% of your damages. So if you have $1000 in injuries and property damage and were 50% responsible, you could receive $500 from the insurance company.
In most accidents involving a bicyclist and a car driver, the latter is at fault. However, bikers who do not follow the rules of the road or engage in dangerous riding activities also can be liable for the accident.
Bicyclists are required to follow the same rules of the road as auto drivers. If you fail to signal, fail to stop, do not use proper lighting on your bike at night, or ride the wrong way on a street, you could be liable. Liability could include your own injuries, injuries of others, and damage to vehicles.
Many states operate under what is called a modified comparative negligence rule in personal injury cases. If the driver or biker is more than 50% responsible for the accident, they may not be able to collect any damages for their injuries and property damages. In fact, if the biker is more than 50% responsible for the accident, they may have to pay damages to the car driver.
In other cases where the biker is less than 50% responsible for the accident, you still could recover damages. For example, if you are in an accident with a car on your bike and have $5000 in injuries but were 20% responsible for the accident, you would theoretically only get $4000 in damages.
- How Much Is Your Car Accident Settlement Worth?
Find out the maximum compensation you could receive.
- How Much Is My Car Accident Settlement Worth?
Related Articles
Whiplash Payout Scale for Grades 0-4
Whiplash is common in car accidents, especially rear-end collisions. Your head and neck are forcefully jerked back and forward by the rapid acceleration-deceleration combination, causing injury to the head, neck, and shoulders. Each auto accident is...
How Long Does a Car Accident Settlement Take?
Involvement in a traffic collision creates a difficult situation, which can be made worse by injuries and property damage. You may be legally entitled to monetary compensation. How long does a car accident settlement take? The answer is different for everyone, but...
How To Adjust to the Traffic and Transportation Culture of a New Area
Even within the same country, transportation cultures can be drastically different. For instance, in New York, the public transportation system is a lifeline for many residents, with the subway being the primary mode of transportation. The city's layout encourages...
The Safety, Pros, and Cons of Different Methods of Transit
There are pros and cons for the different forms of transportation people use every day. The choice of how to get to work or school, run errands, or take longer trips often depends on what modes are available. In densely populated cities, bikes, walking, and public...
How Smart Infrastructure Will Improve and Complicate Public Safety
The American Society of Civil Engineers explains that smart infrastructure uses sensors, cameras, and other connected devices to collect information that helps provide better public services. It works in security, traffic, public transportation, utilities, air...
How To Rethink Your Approach to Hobbies in Light of an Injury
Hobbies are incredibly important for your health and your quality of life. They reduce your stress levels and fight off anxiety and depression by allowing your brain to focus on something you enjoy. You can use hobbies to connect with others, get outside, and get...
Can Exercising Negatively Affect a Car Accident Settlement?
Exercise is a daily part of life for many people. Some individuals work out to stay fit and improve their mobility while others enjoy the mental health benefits of running, swimming, and participating in other forms of exercise. However, after a car accident, it can...
How To Identify Dangerous Driver Behavior in a Taxi or Rideshare
You’ve most likely taken a taxi or rideshare from or to the airport, an event, or just to a friend's house. As integral tools in modern life, they offer convenience, efficiency, and, in many cases, a cost-effective alternative to owning a car. However, like any other...
How New Technologies May Pose New and Unique Distracted Driving Challenges
Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of accidents. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) counted 3,522 fatalities in 2021 due to distracted driving. Distracted driving is usually associated with cell phones, but the Centers...
Michael Eisner earned his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University and practiced law in Illinois for 4 years before leaving to focus his energy on writing full time. He writes about the intersection of law and technology, and enjoys creating content that helps regular people understand how these topics can impact the lives of everyday people in ways they don’t realize.