At Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, our personal injury attorneys can help you recover the most possible compensation for any losses you suffered in a biking accident. Bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as others with whom they share the road. When accidents happen, investigating officers may not be trained in appropriate ways to investigate bicycle collisions. Let our West Virginia bicycle accident lawyers help in your case. Person sitting in a stairwell with their bicycle

Contributing Factors to Bicycle Accidents

It is common in collisions involving bicycles for insurance companies to try to blame the cyclists for causing their own accidents. Law enforcement officers are also more prone to make mistakes in reports about bicycle crashes by omitting some of the important environmental factors that may have contributed. Because we understand that insurance companies may try to dispute the liability of their insureds, our bicycle accident lawyers work hard from the start to fully investigate the scenes and to reconstruct the collisions.

There are many factors that can contribute to the cause of bike crashes, including:

  • The clothing worn by the cyclist
  • Weather conditions
  • Road conditions and surface material
  • Width of lanes
  • Whether the cyclist was riding on a sidewalk or in a bicycle lane
  • Braking distance for both the bicycle and the involved vehicles
  • Speed of the cycle and any vehicle just prior to the collision
  • Road curvature
  • Visibility
  • Driver distraction
  • And others

In evaluating liability we may assess all of these types of factors. If we need to do so, our bike crash lawyers may also hire a reconstruction expert in order to figure out exactly what happened both just before the crash as well as who bore primary responsibility for its cause. This may help us with negotiating with insurance companies and obtaining fair settlements for our injured clients in West Virginia.

Common Bike Accident Injuries in West Virginia

Bicycle accidents can lead to numerous types of injuries, which are often more severe than those suffered in collisions between two motor vehicles. This is because bicycles cannot absorb an impact from a larger passenger vehicle, and cyclists have little to no protection from the impact of a motor vehicle.

When a motor vehicle strikes a cyclist, the impact can cause him or her to be thrown to the ground. This secondary impact can not only cause physical injuries, but also leave a rider on the ground and at risk of being struck again by passing cars. These combined factors could lead to severe injuries, including:

Any biking accident injury that results from negligence could form the basis of a successful claim for compensation.

Resolving a Bicycle Collision Claim

There are two ways to successfully resolve a bicycle accident injury claim in West Virginia. Many cases are resolved through a negotiated settlement. When claims do not settle, however, the second option is to have a bicycle accident attorney take the case to trial and hold the at-fault party accountable in court.

Bike Accident Settlements

In cases that can be settled, the plaintiff will agree not to pursue a bicycle collision lawsuit in exchange for a monetary payment from the defendant. While many cases settle before a lawsuit is ever filed, settlement can occur at any point during the civil claims process.

Settlement offers are common in bike crash cases, but not every offer is worth accepting. For instance, the insurance company for the at-fault driver will likely attempt to settle a case right away knowing that many inured cyclists will not know the true value of their injury claim. This can lead to low settlement offers that do not adequately compensate an injured bike rider for his or her losses. A bicycle accident attorney in West Virginia could help ensure a settlement offer is appropriate.

Going to Trial

Settlement is not an option in every bicycle accident injury case. Sometimes, the motorist responsible for the biking collision will deny any liability. In other cases, the driver might be unable to make a settlement offer for financial reasons. Many defendants in bike accident injury cases will take their chances at trial if they cannot afford to make a settlement offer.

Securing a favorable judgment through civil litigation can result in the financial compensation a cyclist needs to deal with his or her injuries after an accident. Proving the defendant’s fault, however, requires a plaintiff to collect and present evidence of liability to the court. A West Virginia lawyer can help injured bicycle riders recover their accident-related losses through all available means.

Contact a West Virginia Bicycle Accident Attorney Today

If you sustained bodily injuries in a bike crash, you might be able to work with a lawyer to pursue monetary compensation from the driver who struck you. These accidents can lead to severe injuries that could take weeks or months to heal.

You have the right to hire legal counsel to advocate on your behalf during the bike collision claims process. Before you move forward with your case, contact a West Virginia bicycle accident lawyer with Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, to discuss your options.

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Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law

Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law
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