You may think that getting hit by a car while riding a bike would be an open shut case in a personal injury lawsuit. You were a bicyclist who was minding his own business when, out of nowhere, a car, truck, SUV, or motorcycle hit you and you sustained serious injuries. End of discussion, right? Wrong.
Even in what appear to be the most clear-cut cases of negligence on the defendant’s part in a bike accident injury claim, your personal injury lawyer will have his work cut out for him when it comes to proving the negligence or reckless behavior of the person who hit you.
When that negligent party is not obvious, as is the case in some bike vs. car accident cases, the job of the personal injury attorney becomes even more difficult, especially when other factors such as a pothole, construction site, or road debris contributed to the collision. When a city, county, or state government agency is partially or fully responsible for your injuries, your claim always becomes more complicated.
Building a Bike Accident Injury Case
The strength of a bicycle accident claim depends on many factors, and there isn’t really one specific piece of evidence that will ensure a successful claim for compensation. An experienced bike accident lawyer understands the hard work and dedication required to prepare a successful accident lawsuit for trial, and he will use every possible resource available to him to prove you were the victim of negligence or reckless actions of another party.
Bicycle accident reconstruction experts bring to the table many valuable tools. These specialists are able to examine the evidence in a bike accident (including the bike, itself, of course) and information about the surrounding area to determine how the accident occurred. Bike accident reconstruction experts will also examine the victim’s injuries to help arrive at a step-by-step explanation of what occurred at the time of the bike accident. While some speculation comes into play in the work of bike accident experts, many of the conclusions are arrived at based on scientific evidence that is completely objective.
Injury Lawyers Work With Accident Reconstruction Experts
Your bike accident injury lawyer will spend a great deal of time working with the accident reconstruction expert, and, together, they will gain a clear picture of what happened the moment your accident happened. With the aid of security cameras and other photos from the accident scene, witness testimony, information about the weather and traffic at the time of the accident, and the police report, your bike accident attorney will be able to present the findings to insurance companies and a court of law, if your case goes before a judge and/or jury.
How the Picture Becomes Clearer
One of the most crucial pieces of evidence in a bike accident lawsuit is the road condition at the location and time of the accident. Weather, lighting, wind direction and speed, along with other environmental factors are considered.
The mechanical condition of the bicycle is recorded to see if a defect contributed to a loss of control. Bicycle parts including tires, rims, brake pads, control cables, and chains are considered wear items and must be replaced or adjusted at regular intervals. An accident reconstruction expert will check these items to determine the bicycle’s condition and how the rider’s ability to control speed and direction was affected.
The use of GPS recording devices by bicycle riders is now quite common, and with data from a bicycle-mounted computer or smart phone app, the speed, location, elevation, heart rate of the rider, and other data can be analyzed. Unlike eyewitness testimony, which is unreliable, GPS devices record speed and location as frequently as every second, providing much more reliable information.
If you have been injured in a bike accident in New York or Florida, you may have a valid legal claim for any losses you suffered. Please contact the personal injury attorneys at McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum, LLP, to schedule a no-cost consultation; there are statutes of limitations with all bike accident claims, so please don’t delay.