6,000+ Cases Handled & $100+ Million Recovered

California has earned the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous state for cyclists, with bicyclists accounting for 6% of fatalities. In a traffic-clogged place like Orange County, cyclists face many perils from motorists who disregard traffic laws and pay limited attention. As a result, they strike cyclists, often passing with inadequate space, turning into them at intersections, and hitting them with their doors. 

All of these instances result in injuries that are compensable in California courts. For example, under California law, motorists bear responsibility when they hit a cyclist, even if the accident is partly the bicyclist’s fault. However, depending on the severity of injuries, damages can be substantial. 

California personal injury victims have the right to economic and non-economic damages, including the following:

• Medical bills
• Ambulance charges
• Medications
• Surgeries
• Assistive devices
• Lost wages
• Lost benefits
• Reduced income
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium

Bicycle accidents can leave victims in the hospital, unable to work or participate in family activities. They may also suffer severe pain. Alpine Law bicycle accident attorneys specialize in winning settlements and awards that compensate victims for all they lost and suffered.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Bicycle Accident Claim In Irvine, CA?

When a bicyclist sustains injury in an accident, they need legal representation. The liability for a bicycle accident can be on an individual, business, or municipality. Regardless, an insurance company is usually responsible for payment, and their lawyers work hard to minimize settlements and awards.

Most serious injury bicycle accidents involve a private motorist. Businesses are also frequent defendants due to commercial vehicles or the misplacement of property that causes an accident. For example, municipalities may become defendants because of bus-to-bicycle collisions, poorly maintained roads and sidewalks, or sloppily managed construction zones.

When the accident is clearly a defendant’s fault, insurance companies never pay the damages owed. Instead, to reduce their costs, they rely on two primary strategies: 

1) Transferring some or all the blame onto the cyclist or 

2) Disputing the number of damages due.

California’s Pure Comparative Negligence Law

Much of your bicycle accident lawyer’s job involves fighting back against defense lawyers’ attempts to misapply California’s comparative negligence law. Pure comparative negligence allows juries to divide personal injury legal liability between multiple parties in any way they see fit. 

For instance, it can find a motorist 80% at fault and a cyclist 20% at fault or vice versa. In the former example, the cyclist receives 80% of his damages; in the latter, the cyclist gets just 20%.

Your bicycle accident attorney pushes back against attempts to magnify your liability in settlement negotiations and conferences. A personal injury attorney knows the precedents that favor their client’s position and convinces the defense that the costs of going to trial will only increase their expenditures.  

Most cases settle before the trial date; however, if the defense remains obdurate, your lawyer will call the case to trial, present your side, cross-examine defense witnesses, and persuade the jury that you deserve the total compensation allowed under California law.

Establishing Damages

Courts require proof of both liability and damages. Proving economic damages is straightforward. They consist of monetary losses attributable to the accident, including medical bills, lost income, and related expenses. Non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, are subjective.

California law instructs juries to determine economic damages and then award non-economic damages based on considerable monetary damages ranging between 1 and 5. The more adverse impact caused to the plaintiff, the higher the multiple.

Your personal injury attorney gathers convincing evidence of non-economic damages. These include medical reports, witness accounts, and the plaintiff’s experiences. For instance, evidence of pain and suffering from a back injury may include emergency room-, doctor visit-, surgery-, and physical therapy records. In addition, witnesses may attest to the pain and disability caused by the injury. Finally, the plaintiff would explain the symptoms and their impact on life.

A personal injury attorney knows how to build and present a compelling case for damages. Because of this, most defendants settle out of court for substantial amounts. 

Common Causes of Bicycle Accident Injuries

Bicycle accidents can take almost any imaginable form, from a mechanically defective bike to a reckless motorist. These are the most common types of bicycle accidents that result in injuries:

Rear End Collisions

Bicyclists must obey traffic laws, braking for stop signs and traffic lights. Often, a distracted motorist fails to see the bike and plows into it from the rear.

Intersection Collisions

Drivers often make sudden turns at busy intersections and fail to see a biker, causing a collision.

Doorings

These happen when a car is parked parallel to a bike- or traffic lane. A driver or passenger neglects to look before opening a door and hits an oncoming cyclist.

Bus Accidents

City buses are big vehicles negotiating high-speed and high-traffic areas in Orange County. Drivers sometimes fail to see a cyclist or make a mistake, hitting a rider due to fatigue or stress.

Mechanical Defects

Bike manufacturers must sell safe products when used as intended; for example, a mechanically flawed bike can injure the rider.

Poor Road Maintenance

Cyclists can also be hurt when traversing poorly maintained roads with potholes and other dangers. In many instances, the city bears responsibility for accidents caused by insufficient road maintenance.

How Much Is My Bicycle Accident Case Worth / Compensation for Accident Victims?

Bicycle accident cases range from minor personal injuries to wrongful death, creating a wide range of claim values. For instance, a person who sprains their wrist and needs a new bicycle may have a claim of a few thousand dollars. The family of a cyclist killed by a reckless driver likely has a claim worth millions.

California law allows for economical, general, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages include the following:

• Medical bills
• Medications
• Doctor visits
• Surgery
• Related transportation
• Property damage
• Lost wages
• Lost self-employment income
• Lost benefits

General damages include the following:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium

California courts only award punitive damages in egregious personal injury cases, such as a drunk driver hitting and paralyzing a cyclist.

Contact a Top-Rated Irvine, CA Bicycle Accident Lawyer Today

You have legal rights if you sustained an injury in a bicycle accident. Contact Alpine law if you are looking for a bicycle accident attorney near me.