Durham, NC, offers bicycle riders an abundance of dedicated bike lanes, paths, trails and streets from which to choose whether they ride for exercise or as an alternative to automobiles and buses for their commute to work or to school. Anytime you put bicycle riders in close proximity to each other or traveling on roads used by cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles, careless or reckless behavior can lead to a crash.
The fresh air and unobstructed view that make bicycling so enjoyable come at a price. Other than a helmet, riders have little in the way of protective equipment to keep them from suffering severe injuries in a crash. According to the most recently available annual data from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, out of 899 bicycle accidents reported to police, 18 people died and another 779 suffered some type of injury.
When should you contact a lawyer after a bicycle accident?
If you are involved in a bike accident in the Durham area, you should contact a Durham bicycle accident attorney right away. As with all accidents involving a multi-ton vehicle and a bicycle, the rider is likely to sustain serious injuries, broken bones, head trauma, and possibly even permanent disabilities.
The seriousness of the injuries calls for an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Durham to conduct an accident scene investigation while the evidence is still fresh. The scene will change over any delay of days or weeks. Valuable evidence that would help prove the negligence of the automobile driver could be lost.
Skilled motorcycle attorneys know that any delay in moving the case forward favors the insurance company or their negligent driver. There’s no downside to contacting a motorcycle accident lawyer in Durham right away.
What do you do after a bicycle accident?
First, contact the police to make sure an official accident report is generated. If the rider’s injuries permit, the bicyclist should take photographs of all the involved vehicles and the surrounding area, including potential witnesses. Try to get the name and contact information of anyone who saw the accident.
From the accident scene, the injured bike rider should go directly to the hospital for emergency medical assessment and treatment. Delaying medical treatment can be misinterpreted as indicating less serious injuries.
At the earliest opportunity after the bicycle accident, contact a qualified bicycle accident lawyer in Durham, someone who knows the area and the typical traffic patterns nearby. If you search “bicycle accident attorney near me,” or “bicycle accident lawyer in Durham,” the Clauson Law Firm should be at or near the top of search engine result page (SERP). We pride ourselves on our dedication to Durham bicycle accident victims.
What percentage do bicycle accident lawyers take?
Nationally, the standard fee arrangement is a one-third contingency fee. This means that at the end of the case, after your bicycle accident lawyer succeeded in winning a financial compensation settlement or court judgment for you, the lawyer can retain 33% of the funds for their legal services.
Like elsewhere in the country, a Durham bike accident attorney may spend a substantial sum of money in advance to get medical records, investigators, expert witnesses, and to pay deposition costs. Some of those costs are reimbursed from the settlement. Of course, a qualified, experienced bicycle accident lawyer will maximize the value of the final settlement, thus delivering the best possible result for the client.
What happens if you accidentally hit a cyclist?
If a motorist strikes a bicyclist, the circumstances of the crash are reviewed to establish whose action or inaction caused the accident.
Occasionally, it might be a bicyclist whose riding is improper. Bicyclists are human too, and they may be at fault for crossing lanes of traffic dangerously or riding too fast in a street with busy driveways. In any case, a motorist who hits a bicycle rider should immediately notify their insurance carrier, and refrain from speaking about the accident until they consult a bicycle accident lawyer near them.
Who is at fault if a bicycle hits a car?
In many bicycle accidents, the point of collision is on the side of the motor vehicle. Does that mean the bicyclist is at fault because his bike hit the car? No.
Most bicycle collisions with cars happen when the motorist turns in front of the bicyclist without yielding, despite the cyclist having a right to the roadway too. The “share the road” campaign conducted in many states aimed to educate motorists that bicycles have the right-of-way in many traffic situations. If a cyclist is riding in the curb-side lane in oncoming traffic, the bike has the right-of-way. Unfortunately, motorists often turn left directly in front of the bike rider, causing the bike to collide with the passenger side of the vehicle. Bicyclists are often victims of others’ negligence despite the bike hitting the vehicle.
