Your Bicycle Accident Injury Case To-Do List

March 22, 2023

Pennsylvanians love their bikes. In fact, Philadelphia tops the list of America’s 10 largest cities in its percentage of bicycle commuters, with a 2.1 percent share of the city’s traffic modes. Unfortunately, more bicyclists can mean more bicycle-related injuries, including accident injuries caused by other parties.

If you’ve suffered an injury from a bicycle accident and you believe someone else should pay for your financial losses, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. First, you should understand how to proceed along that path as efficiently and effectively as possible. Include the following important steps on your to-do list.

Document the Accident Thoroughly

The more facts about the incident that you can collect accurately, the more information your attorney can use to establish your side of the story in court. For this reason, you should stay at the scene until the police arrive, so you can present the facts in your own words. Make sure they talk to you, not just the other party.

You should make a serious effort to document everything on your own, instead of assuming that the police will record every detail. Try to get the other party’s license plate and insurance information, get the contact information of any eyewitnesses, and take photos or video footage of the site, injury, or bike damage.

Seek Prompt Medical Evaluation and Treatment

A bicycle accident can leave you with a traumatic brain injury, serious vertebral or spinal cord damage, fractures, lacerations, internal organ damage, and other potentially catastrophic physical damage. Immediate medical evaluation and the soonest possible treatment of these injuries may help both your body and your case.

Professional medical documentation of your injury can play just as important a role in supporting your lawsuit as the initial documentation you made at the accident site. The documentation also shows the court that you took your injury seriously enough to obtain the proper care and that you did everything possible to recover from your injuries.

Discuss Your Case With an Attorney First

Before you accept any kind of insurance settlement or other compensation for your bicycle accident injury, you should talk to a skilled, reputable personal injury attorney. This legal expert can help you avoid critical missteps that might ruin your case or leave you with insufficient compensation for your losses.

Personal injury attorneys can also help your case in other ways. An experienced attorney will know what evidence to collect, which expert witnesses can reinforce your injury claim, how to anticipate and fight against the defendant’s legal strategies, and how to present your case to a judge as persuasively as possible.

Not all legal victories occur in the courtroom. Your attorney may see opportunities to negotiate with the defendant’s attorney, resulting in a settlement that meets your financial needs without forcing you to go through the additional time, effort, and expense of a trial.

Understand How Pennsylvania Law Applies to Your Lawsuit

Pennsylvania personal injury laws can be confusing to anyone who doesn’t deal with them regularly. For instance, the state’s modified comparative negligence rule can limit your compensation by whatever percentage of the blame you might shoulder for the accident.

Auto insurance typically pays vehicular accident damages in Pennsylvania. Motor vehicle operators who only have limited tort insurance (as opposed to full tort) can’t sue for additional compensation.

In any kind of personal injury case, you can benefit from a skilled attorney with extensive experience in that particular field of law. If you wish to pursue a bicycle accident injury lawsuit, the legal team at Nerenberg Law Associates, P.C., has the expertise you need. Contact our office today to request a consultation.