Riding a bicycle is cost-effective, a great environmental alternative to carbon-emitting motor vehicles, a healthy way to get around town, and can be an enjoyable experience aside from any other benefits. Tallahassee has great weather throughout the year, meaning that year-round bike commuting is a more viable option than in colder northern states. Our city has taken a number of strides to improve safety for cyclists and other non-motorists in recent years.
Improvements to bike safety are great news, but the reality is that there is no guarantee that a cyclist will not be injured or killed as a result of someone else’s reckless or negligent behavior — often someone driving a motor vehicle. In a collision between a cyclist and a motor vehicle, the cyclist typically suffers far-worse injuries than the driver or passenger in the car since they are being struck by a moving object that often weighs more than 1000 lbs, and cyclists only have the protection they are wearing.
After a cycling accident, there is often uncertainty or a disagreement about how the accident was caused and who was at fault. Answering the first question of fault is an essential step for a cyclist to move forward with an insurance claim or lawsuit to recover the damages they are rightfully owed if someone else is responsible for the accident they were hurt in. In a fatal cycling accident, surviving family members may be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Contact 1-800-Injured To Find a Bicycle Accident Attorney in Tallahassee With Ease
1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service. After a cycling accident, a victim deserves to focus on recovering from their injuries or healing from the loss of a loved one without having to take on the additional stress and burden of dealing with an insurance claim or lawsuit on their own. Partnering with an attorney is one of the best ways to get through this legal process with an improved chance of a fair settlement while taking the necessary time to recover. Contacting 1-800-Injured is the easiest way to find a lawyer in your area.
Read more about bicycle accident claims and lawsuits below.
How To Get The Money You Deserve After a Bicycle Accident
After an accident, you will need to exchange information with the at-fault driver, such as their insurance information, contact information, driver’s license number, vehicle license plate, and more. With this information, you will be able to file a claim if they were responsible for the accident. However, getting the money you deserve is more complicated than simply reaching out to the driver’s insurance and initiating a claim — insurance adjusters and the companies they represent are focused on settling cases as quickly and inexpensively as possible, and your situation is likely no different.
Call 911 After Your Accident
After any sort of accident, calling 911 provides several benefits, including getting immediate emergency medical care as well as a substantial body of official evidence that will play a central role in your insurance claim. The attending police officer will compile an accident report that includes a range of relevant information such as the location, date, and time of the accident, statements from witnesses, and their determination of what happened to cause the crash. If the at-fault driver is issued any citations, this information will also be present in the report.
Get Medical Attention For Any Injuries
When the EMTs arrive at the bicycle accident scene in Tallahassee, let them give you a thorough examination. Adrenaline can mask the pain of injuries in the aftermath of an accident, and refusing care or stating that you are certain you haven’t been injured may come back to haunt you if you wake up aching the following day. When the EMTs examine you, they will be able to get a clear idea of what happened. They will generate documentation to further help your attorney when you file an insurance claim to recover damages.
Document Your Experience
If possible, take a video of the accident scene while you are waiting for police and EMTs to arrive at the scene. Narrate the video with any relevant detail you can think of, such as your direction of travel, the driver’s direction of travel, and what happened to cause the accident. While the incident may seem extremely clear, memory fades quickly, and what we recall may be inaccurate. Any contemporaneous information you can provide your attorney with will help them understand the case much more clearly and will give them repeatable information that they can return at any time.
Hire a Lawyer
Filing an insurance claim is, in itself, a fairly straightforward process, but simply following the adjuster’s lead throughout the claims investigation is not the way to receive fair compensation for your damages. Insurance adjusters work on behalf of the insurance company — whether as independent contractors or employees — and are focused on settling your claim as quickly and affordably as possible. Adjusters use many different tactics to convince claimants to accept low settlement offers, but you can be confident that these tactics will not work when you are working through an attorney.
Focus On Your Recovery
The sooner you recover, the sooner you can get your life back on track after this accident. While your lawyer fights to get you the money you deserve, you will be able to prioritize your medical care, therapy and taking the necessary steps to make a recovery. Emotional stress is shown to have a significant impact on recovery from physical injuries, meaning that the more stress and anxiety you can remove from your life (such as your insurance claim), the better your recovery may be. Insurance companies rely on stressed-out and anxious claimants overwhelmed with their lost wages, medical bills, and the other impacts of their accident because they are more likely to accept an initial settlement offer without realizing how much more their case is truly worth.