New Orleans Bicycle Accident Lawyer

If you sustain injuries in a collision between your bicycle and a car, you might be juggling medical bills and financial uncertainty. If another person’s negligence caused your injuries, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Our New Orleans bicycle accident lawyers can help you through this difficult time and pursue full compensation for your losses.

You do not have to navigate the legal process without help. A New Orleans personal injury lawyer from Laborde Earles can help. We can discuss the circumstances of your Orleans Parish case during a free case review.

Our legal team has over 350 years of combined experience that we can draw on to build your claim. We know how to help with insurance negotiations or a lawsuit to assist clients in your situation.

How a Bicycle Accident Lawyer in New Orleans Can Help

Our legal team can assist with all aspects of your claim after a bicycle crash. Recovering compensation for you and your loved ones is our top priority. We don’t want you to stress about the legal process with us on your team. You can rely on us to:

Gather Evidence

When we represent you, our personal injury attorneys can collect all accident and injury-related evidence in your case, such as:

• Medical records and bills that substantiate the physical and financial extent of your injuries
• Pictures of your injuries, your damaged or destroyed bicycle, and the at-fault driver’s vehicle, if possible
• Direct deposit receipts, paycheck stubs, and other documents that prove your income loss due to your injuries
• Traffic camera, residential, and other video footage of the accident or its aftermath
• Testimony from eyewitnesses and accident reconstruction experts

The more evidence we can gather, the higher our chances of bringing you fair compensation for all of your losses.

Request and Review the Accident Report for You

We can examine your crash report. If your injuries caused you to lose consciousness or impair your memory, the details captured in the official crash report may tell the story of the accident.

The crash report in your case could contain the following:

• The contact information of the at-fault driver
• The contact information of their insurer
• The contact information of any witnesses
• The accident’s date, time, and location
• Road and weather conditions at the time of the accident
• Primary and secondary crash factors

Your crash report may also contain the investigating officer’s accident narrative and any citations issued at the scene. Our team can use this information to build your compensation claim.

File Your Insurance Claim

After reviewing all the evidence about your accident, we can file your claim with the liable insurance company. In Louisiana, this would likely be the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier. When filing your claim, we will:

• Fill out all necessary paperwork.
• Read the liability policy.
• Present the cost of your damages in a demand letter.
• Handle all communications.
• Keep you updated on your case’s progression.

We take care of this process so you can focus on recovering from your injuries.

Negotiate a Settlement on Your Behalf

After we’ve filed your insurance claim, we’ll negotiate its resolution. We’ll represent your interests to the insurer and ensure they don’t devalue your claim. We know what questions to ask before accepting a settlement to ensure you get fair compensation.

Also, if necessary, we can consider threatening a lawsuit, which may help convince the insurer to settle your case in good faith and fairly.

Represent Your Case in Civil Court

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), most personal injury cases are settled out of court. Instead, they usually involve insurance settlements or mediation. We will usually only file a lawsuit if the insurance company refuses to pay.

Therefore, we’ll take every opportunity to build your case in anticipation of trial, but it’s likely that it won’t get to that point.

If we do decide to go to trial, we can:

• File your case before the statute of limitations expires (if time permits)
• Present an argument in court
• Communicate with the other side’s legal team
• Establish what laws apply to your case
• Work to prove negligence and liability

We’ll discuss all of your legal options when you contact us to handle your personal injury claim. We’re ready to explain how personal injury lawsuits work if you have more questions.

Compensation in a Bicycle Accident Case

Louisiana law allows bike accident victims to collect economic and non-economic damages in a personal injury case. Depending on the nature of your accident, your damages may include the funds you need to pay for your:

• Current and future lost wages
• Current and future costs of medical care
• Property damage expenses
• Pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish
• Reduced earning capability
• Disability, scarring, disfigurement, and impaired quality of life

An experienced attorney from our firm can track all of these losses on your behalf and explain how to win your personal injury claim.

We Know How to Establish the Value of Your Claim

You may incur intangible costs, such as disability, that lack a monetary value. These costs may be challenging to manage. Your New Orleans bicycle accident attorney can evaluate these damages for you.

By having an attorney from our firm calculate your damages for you, you can feel confident that you’re getting fair payment for your losses. An insurer may not assess your damages fairly, which would devalue your claim and reduce your compensation amount.

Our attorneys use various methods to calculate damages, and insurers typically accept these methods. You may wonder what the average settlement is for a bicycle accident, but we’ll focus on your specific losses. 

Why Choose Us After a Bike Crash?

Our team at Laborde Earles believes in putting clients first and providing dedicated assistance throughout the legal process as Louisiana Attorneys That Care. We have extensive experience handling personal injury law claims and can offer the personalized help you need.

We maintain open communication throughout the legal process and keep you up-to-date about the status of your claim. You can rely on an experienced bicycle accident lawyer from our team to help you secure maximum compensation for your losses.

We Work on Your Case at No Cost to You

Our bicycle accident attorneys in New Orleans can represent you on a contingency-fee basis. In this arrangement, you do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. We take payment for our help from your settlement. Therefore, you do not have to pay for a lawyer out of pocket.

We’ve Helped Personal Injury Victims Recover Millions

Our consultants and legal team will go to work for you. We have recovered millions of dollars for claimants. We will fight to get you the compensation you need so you can heal and rebuild your life.

Our settlements and verdicts have crossed the spectrum of personal injury cases. These victories include cases worth thousands to tens of millions of dollars. We have successfully closed numerous personal injury cases, such as by securing:

• $120,000 for a motorcycle accident victim with a broken leg who needed surgery
• $425,000 for a shopper who suffered a back injury in a shopping cart accident
• $1,200,000 trial verdict for a motorcycle accident victim
• $5,250,000 for a car accident victim with a brain injury

Our case results speak for themselves. We are proud to have secured high-value awards for our clients. Our bicycle accident attorneys in New Orleans will work hard to do the same for you.

Our Clients Speak Out for Us

We’ve helped many people like you, including those who have been involved in bicycle accidents. Our clients appreciate how hard we fight for them, and many have expressed their gratitude through testimonials. Some of these clients had the following to say about us:

“I woke up and I was lying on my stomach, facedown in a ditch. David was a phenomenal individual. I felt secure; I felt that he was protecting me and my family, and he was going to get us what we deserved. He was a great lawyer and went above and beyond.” – Kelsie

“I was feeling more and more pain and went to the doctor. I had two surgeries in my neck and my back. I made an appointment with David and it was a real good experience. He worked with me all the way and was like a good friend in a time of need. I don’t think anybody could have done a better job than he did.” – Keith

Proving Negligence in a Bicycle Accident Case

In making a case, you and your lawyer must show that the at-fault party was negligent. We will have to prove that your bicycle accident occurred because they did not show the care that a reasonable driver would have on the road.

This carelessness could be as simple as the driver reaching for something in the glove compartment or following behind you too closely. Establishing negligence often requires gathering a lot of evidence and connecting the dots. However, if the driver who caused your accident violated the law, they are automatically considered negligent. 

The Components of Negligence

To prove the other party in your case was negligent, your attorney will have to establish each of the components of negligence. These include:

• The other party owed you a duty of care.
• This party breached their duty of care.
• The breach of duty led to the incident.
• You suffered compensable damages.

We’re ready to investigate the negligent driver today so we can establish fault for your crash.

New Orleans Bike Laws

Our city has specific laws in place to protect bike riders, and violating these rules constitutes a negligent and illegal act. For example, it is unlawful to:

• Harass, taunt, or maliciously throw objects at or in the direction of someone riding a bike.
• Operate a motor vehicle in a bike lane, except when turning, entering, or leaving a parking space, alley, driveway, or private road.
• Pass and overtake a bicycle with less than three feet of distance between the vehicle and the bike, per the Colin Goodier Protection Act (RS 32:76.1).

You may qualify for monetary compensation if a driver violated any of these laws.

Who Has to Pay You After a Bike Accident?

The party that holds legal liability for your crash should have to cover your losses. A motorist may be entirely liable for your incident and injuries. However, another party may also be liable. Many parties can share liability in a bicycle accident case.

For example, in some cases, a motorist and the local government can share liability. The government may be liable because it neglected to clear the road of debris, which contributed to the incident. In your case, a motorist, the government, and the motorist’s employer may all share liability.

Your attorney can determine whether another party may be liable in your case. If there is another liable party, your attorney can hold them to account and recover compensation from them.

We Can Help After a Fatal Bicycle Accident

If your loved one lost their life in a deadly bicycle accident, you can turn to a compassionate New Orleans wrongful death lawyer from our team for professional support. We can review your situation and determine if you qualify to file a wrongful death claim.

In many situations, we can hold the liable party accountable for covering:

• Funeral and burial costs
• End-of-life medical care costs
• Lost wages
• Loss of parental guidance
• Loss of companionship

The personal injury lawyers on our team will put in due diligence to collect evidence of your injuries and losses. Our goal is to create a complete picture of the harm you suffered so we can accurately calculate the value of your case and get you the damages your family deserves.

You Have Two Years to File Your Bicycle Accident Lawsuit

We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible after your accident. Louisiana sets a general two-year statute of limitations on personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, per CC Art. 3492 and CC Art. 2315.2. If this time limit expires before you take legal action, you could lose your ability to recover compensation via a lawsuit.

These deadlines matter because insurance claims don’t always work out as we hope. If the insurance company doesn’t agree to a fair settlement and if negotiations deteriorate, your attorney will need to be ready to file a civil suit.

Contact Us After a Bike Accident in New Orleans, LA

Whether you are filing a personal injury case or a wrongful death case, a New Orleans bicycle accident lawyer from our firm can help you pursue compensation from the responsible party. We’ll take your case to court if that’s what it takes to recover maximum compensation in your case.

You can contact our team at Laborde Earles today. We offer free, no-obligation consultations to victims of bicycle accidents.