Too many bicyclists become injured. Fortunately, victims are allowed to claim compensation. If this describes your situation, our Carencro bicycle accident lawyers could help. A personal injury professional can take on your case while you recover.
How Can Our Carencro Bicycle Accident Lawyers Help After an Injury?
Your priority after a bicycle accident should be to seek medical attention. After you receive emergency medical care and treatment from a doctor, we recommend consulting a personal injury attorney to pursue your legal options. If you were following traffic rules before the accident, your lawyer could help you get monetary damages from the at-fault party or parties.
Lawyers do this by collecting all the medical records that detail your injuries and treatments, evidence from the crash site, and proof of how your injuries have affected and will continue to affect your life. They will interview you and different medical and accident reconstruction experts to get a clearer picture of the accident and establish that the other party acted negligently.
Your attorney will then serve a notice claim to all the parties involved and begin settlement discussions with the defendant’s lawyer. Your attorney will file a personal injury lawsuit in court if they cannot settle. According to CC 3492, Louisiana’s personal injury statute of limitations is one year after the bicycle accident. You’ll not be allowed to file a lawsuit once this period elapses.
Laborde Earles injury was great for me they took care of me very fast and professional. If for any reason I need legal help they will be who I use.
ClientWhere Do Bicycle Accidents Commonly Occur?
Cyclists face significant risk whenever they’re on the road, primarily due to the small size of the bicycles and the fact that they lack external protection. This means a fender bender that would have left a car with minor scratches has the potential to injure a cyclist severely.
The following areas tend to present a higher degree of risk to cyclists and are known to experience numerous bicycle accidents:
Roundabouts
These can be tricky to navigate for even experienced drivers, especially during heavy traffic. The risk is even higher for cyclists, as they could end up in a crash if a motorist doesn’t notice them passing or fails to give way.
T-Junctions
Bicycle accidents at T-junctions tend to occur when a motorist doesn’t spot a cyclist as they turn onto the main road or when they get off the main road and cross the oncoming lane without giving the cyclist the right-of-way.
Doorings
Many cyclists have been thrown off their bicycles after a driver or passenger exiting a parked vehicle opened a door without checking behind them.
Traffic Jams
Although cyclists can filter between lanes to avoid traffic jams, they can crash into motorists who change lanes without checking their mirrors for blind spots.
Potholed Roads
While driving over a pothole is unlikely to destabilize a car, a cyclist can quickly lose their balance and crash if they accidentally ride over a pothole.
I thank God for Digger & David. I don’t know what we would have done if it hadn’t have been for them.
Rick Smith | ClientCauses of Bicycle Accidents in Carencro
According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission (HSC), there were 573 bicycle injuries and 34 fatalities in 2019. Here are a few reasons why:
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Alcohol interferes with your perception, reduces your reaction speeds, and significantly increases your chances of being in an accident. Louisiana has many drunk driving fatalities, with the frequency of these accidents peaking during holidays and social events.
Hostile and Negligent Drivers
A subset of drivers believes cyclists don’t belong on the road. These drivers will go out of their way to harass cyclists and can even drive recklessly around them. If such behavior causes the cyclist to crash, they could sue the motorist for damages. They may even be awarded punitive damages if the driver’s behavior was particularly reckless and negligent.
Insufficient Bicycle-Friendly Infrastructure
Poorly maintained or insufficient bike lanes force cyclists to share space with drivers, posing a risk of bicycle accidents and reducing bicyclists’ overall safety on the road.
Low Visibility
Inattentive drivers cannot spot cyclists in time as they’re much smaller than the average vehicle and can be easy to miss. Cyclists may also be challenging to spot in the dark and during weather events, such as rain or snow, that reduce visibility.
Poorly Maintained Roads
Roads with potholes, pools of standing water, broken traffic lights, and other issues also increase the risk of bicycle accidents.
Animal Collisions or Attacks
Pets like dogs have been known to attack or chase after cyclists. They can also suddenly dart into the rider’s path and cause the bicyclist to crash.
The reassurance from Digger and his staff gave me that renewed hope that it’s going to be okay down the road.
ClientBicycle Accident Claim Damages You Could Secure
Did you know that you’re entitled to more than just medical costs after a bicycle accident? Depending on the severity of your injuries and how they’ve affected your life, your Carencro lawyer could get you a combination of the following damages:
- Medical expenses
- Cost of future medical care
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Property damage
- Wrongful death
Wrongful death damages go to the immediate family of a victim who lost their lives in an accident. These damages cover the deceased’s medical bills, the pain and suffering due to their injuries, and burial expenses.
They treated us like no other people would. Whenever we needed something they were there for us. I put my trust in them and I don’t regret it.
ClientOur Team Knows How Serious Bicycle Accidents Are
Cycling can be immensely beneficial to your health, strengthening the heart and lungs, improving circulation, and minimizing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Cycling as a form of transportation also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, cyclists are incredibly vulnerable to accidents compared to other motorists. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that bicycle accidents leave 130,000 cyclists injured and take close to 1,000 dead every year.
Contact Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers Today After a Carencro Accident
If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in a bicycle accident in Carencro, Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers could help you get the compensation you deserve.
Our attorneys have more than 350 years of combined legal experience and have recovered over $200 million in settlements and verdicts from clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.
