Bicycles offer many people a quick and economical way to travel. This can include riding a bike to get to work, to run errands, or simply for entertainment. Unfortunately, bike riders are often exposed to significant harm due to negligent automobile drivers.
Car drivers have a legal obligation to share the road with bikers, and a failure to do so that results in a collision creates civil liability. People injured in bike collisions with other vehicles have the right to demand compensation for their losses.
A Boonville bicycle accident lawyer could help if you have suffered an injury in a bicycle accident. An experienced personal injury attorney at the A.W. Smith Law Firm, P.C. could work to gather the evidence needed to demonstrate defendant negligence, to accurately measure your losses, and to demand full compensation in settlement talks or court.
Choosing to ride a bike in Boonville comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Bike riders can save money by not having to pay for gas and get great exercise while traveling. However, simply riding a bike on a public road places people at great risk of harm.
Collisions between bike riders and motor vehicles are surprisingly common. Even a low speed, contact between these vehicles can result in catastrophic physical injuries. Typical examples of these injuries include:
An at-fault defendant may be liable to provide compensation for the medical costs associated with a bicycle accident. However, a defendant’s responsibility to pay may extend far beyond this obligation. Many bike riders also suffer economic losses. If their injuries force them to miss some time at work or inflict a disability that permanently limits their ability to earn a living, a defendant must provide payments for these losses as well. Finally, many victims in bike accident suffer severe mental anguish. Any loss of quality of life due to pain or even an inability to ride a bike again is also a compensable loss. A skilled bicycle accident lawyer in Boonville could help individuals to measure their damages and to demand full payments in their claims.
An injured claimant can only collect compensation when another party is at fault for the accident. Normally, this means that the Boonville bicycle accident attorney will need to prove that a defendant was negligent. A defendant is considered negligent when they have a duty to protect the plaintiff, they fail in this duty, and an injury occurs. As applied to bicycle accident cases, all drivers have a duty to protect all other people on the road, even bike riders. It follows that they must drive their vehicles in a way that does not place any bike riders at unnecessary risk of harm. Examples of this risky behavior include speeding, running red lights, and not yielding to a bike rider when required by law.
However, many bicycle accident cases are not this obvious. Many cases must examine the actions of both the bike rider and the defendant driver to assign blame. Boonville courts use the concept of comparative negligence in personal injury cases. This means that a jury must assign blame in proportion to each party’s fault. As a result, a jury will reduce an award for damages by the percentage of fault held by the plaintiff. A diligent lawyer could help bike riders to show that a defendant’s actions were the lone cause of the accident.
The aftermath of a bicycle accident may leave you frightened and confused. You are likely to require immediate medical attention, and the resulting injuries may require months or years to heal. All the while, you may be missing out on income from being unable to work and may be left to endure severe pain and mental anguish. An at-fault driver is always responsible to provide compensation for these losses, but defendants and their insurance companies will not simply hand out money.
A Boonville bicycle accident lawyer could help you to obtain the compensation that you deserve. They can work to investigate the facts that led your injuries, to demonstrate that a defendant was negligent, and provide an accurate accounting of your losses. Speak to our skilled team at A.W. Smith Law Firm today to get started on your case.
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