If you were hurt in a collision between your bicycle and a car, you might be juggling medical bills, time missed from work, and financial uncertainty. If another person’s negligence caused your injuries, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
You do not have to navigate the legal process on your own. A New Orleans bicycle accident lawyer from Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can help. We can discuss the circumstances of your Orleans Parish case during a free case review.
Recoverable Damages 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:
- Current and future lost wages
- Current and future costs of medical care
- Property damage expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced earning capability
- Disability, scarring, disfigurement, and impaired quality of life
Wrongful Death Damages
If your loved one lost their life in a New Orleans bicycle accident, you might be able to pursue wrongful death damages through a wrongful death lawsuit. Examples of these damages include:
- 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 you deserve.
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We Can Start Working on Your Case at No Cost to You
Our bike accident lawyers may be able to 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. This means you do not have to pay for a lawyer out of pocket.
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We Can Valuate Your Costs for Your New Orleans Bicycle Accident Case
You may have intangible costs, like disability, that don’t have monetary value. These costs may be difficult to manage and difficult to attribute a monetary value to. Your New Orleans bicycle accident attorney can valuate these damages for you.
By having an attorney from our firm valuate your damages for you, you ensure they’re valuated fairly. An insurer may not valuate your damages fairly, which would devalue your claim and reduce your compensation amount.
Our attorneys have various methods of valuating damages, and insurers typically accept these methods.
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Our Firm Has Helped Personal Injury Victims Recover Millions in Damages
Our consultants and legal team will go to work for you. We have recovered millions of dollars for claimants in New Orleans. We will fight to get you the compensation you need so you can recover and rebuild your life.
Our settlements and verdicts have crossed the spectrum of personal injury cases. These victories include cases worth thousands of dollars to tens of millions. 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 assisted many people like you, including many bicycle accident victims. Our clients appreciate how hard we fight for them, and many of them have expressed their appreciation with their 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
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You Have One Year to File Your Bicycle Accident Lawsuit in New Orleans
We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible after your accident. Louisiana sets a general one-year statute of limitations on personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, per CC Art. 3492 and CC Art. 2315.2.
This is a much shorter timeframe than what most other states provide. If this time limit expires before you take legal action, you could lose your ability to recover compensation via a lawsuit.
This is important because insurance claims do not always pan 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.
A bicycle accident lawyer in New Orleans can manage all evidence-gathering and legal work in your case. We can also answer your questions, give you legal advice, and keep you updated while you focus on your recovery.
How Our Legal Team Can Help You Prove Your New Orleans Bicycle Accident Case
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. Let us handle everything.
We Can Help You Gather Evidence
When we represent you, our personal injury lawyers 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
We Can Request and Review the Accident Report for You
We can examine your crash report. If your injuries caused you to lose consciousness or impaired 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 may be able to use this information to build your compensation claim.
We Can Help You File Your Insurance Claim
After reviewing your case’s evidence, 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 liable policy
- Present the cost of your damages in a demand letter
- Handle all communications
- Keep you updated on your case’s progression
We Can Negotiate Your 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. Also, if we must, we can threaten a lawsuit, which may help convince the insurer to settle your case in good faith and fairly.
We Can Represent Your Case in Civil Court
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), most personal injury cases don’t go to court because they are typically resolved through insurance settlements or mediation. We will usually only file a lawsuit if the insurance company doesn’t agree to a settlement. Therefore, we’ll take every opportunity to build your case in anticipation of trial, but it likely 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
Proving Negligence in a Bicycle Accident Case
In making a case, you and your lawyer must show the at-fault party was negligent. You 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 a lot of evidence and connecting the dots. However, if the driver who caused your accident violated the law, they are automatically considered negligent. This is called “negligence per se.”
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:
- That the other party owed you a duty of care
- That this party breached their duty of care
- That the breach of duty led to the incident
- That you suffered compensable damages
New Orleans Bike Laws
New Orleans has specific laws to protect bike riders, and a violation of these laws is a negligent and illegal act. For example, it is illegal 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)
Who May Be Liable for Your New Orleans Bicycle Accident
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 are liable. The government may be liable because they 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.
Contact Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers Today for a Free Case Review
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 it helps you recover your due compensation.
Contact Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers today. We offer free, no-obligation consultations to bicycle accident victims in New Orleans.
Get The HelpYou Need(504) 777-7777To Schedule a FREE CONSULATION
24 hours a day • 7 days a week
