A San Diego Bicycle Accident Attorney Answers Bicycle Accident Questions
What should I do at the scene of my bicycle accident?Contact the police and let them know if there are injuries to anyone involved in the accident (they may not respond unless there is an injury in the bicycle accident). Since there is no way to force the police to respond, it is important that they know the facts. Since your injuries in a bike accident are often more serious than a typical auto accident the police are more likely to respond.
However, be aware that even when they respond, you need to make an effort to insure that they investigate your bicycle accident. Always be cooperative and courteous with the officers. Make sure they take down your statements about the bicycle accident accurately - ask them to repeat what they’ve written. Speak in front of witnesses if possible – that way if the officer makes a mistake, your witnesses can verify what you actually said.
A disadvantage you have as a bicyclist is that you are often more seriously injured in a bicycle accident than a car accident – normally, you would talk to the drivers and witnesses (including the passengers in the vehicle(s) and take down their names and numbers so that your attorney can contact them later. If you are too hurt to do so, make sure the police officers have identified the persons present, that they get the other driver's name and address, ask for their driver's license, and get their insurance information. Make sure they check if someone else owns the vehicle and who their insurance company is. This is one reason why courtesy and cooperation with the officers is very important – if you are rude or uncooperative, they may not take the time to gather the information you need, and as a bicyclist you are likely too injured to do so yourself.
If you can, take some pictures at the scene to show what happened – these will show skid marks, the positions the vehicles are in after the accident and the damage to each vehicle
How do the insurance companies conduct their investigation of a bicycle accident and determine who was at fault in the bicycle accident?Once a bicycle accident has been reported, the insurance company or companies make a determination of fault. This is determined by the statement of their insured(s) and the witnesses, the police report and the physical evidence from the scene of the bicycle accident (such as skid marks, damage to cars, etc…)
Recorded Statements
The bicyclist will most often be asked to give a recorded statement regarding what happened in the bicycle accident. You should retain counsel before communicating with an insurer, particularly before giving a recorded statement, as what you say in the statement will affect the rest of your case.
You will be asked to give a description of how the bicycle accident occurred, who was involved in the bicycle accident, and to describe the injuries you suffered in the bicycle accident.
Liability Determination
Based on the evidence and statements, each insurance company makes a decision as to what percentage of fault they believe each person had. Their offer to settle your claim is adjusted by the percentage of fault they apportion to you. For example, if they believed your claim was worth $10,000.00 but found you 20% at fault, the most they would be willing to offer you to settle would be $8,000.00 (80% of $10,000.00).
What if the insurance company makes the wrong decision on liability in my bicycle accident?Insurance companies are bound to give great weight to their own insured’s statements, even over those of the witnesses and the police report’s conclusions. Furthermore, bicyclists tend to take an unfair portion of the blame for bicycle accidents despite statistics that demonstrate that other vehicles more often cause bicycle accidents.
Even where the insurance company finds you to be significantly at fault, an experienced bicycle accident attorney can often structure a settlement which will still put an acceptable amount of money in your pocket regardless of any liability issue.
What should I know about medical care for my bicycle accident injuries?Due to the more severe nature of bicycle accident injuries on the whole, the victim is often so shocked and dazed from the bicycle accident that they may not notice they are hurt until the initial shock wears off later. If there is any question of injury, go to the hospital or see a doctor right away.
When you first see a doctor, give the doctor a thorough and complete account of your symptoms. Make sure the doctor accurately notes what you tell them. When they ask what problems you have, tell them all of your symptoms, not just those you think they’re most interested in, or the ones you think are relevant to their specialty.
Bicycle accident victims should take extra care to insure that the doctor is aware of past injuries which might be related to the present injuries in any way. Many bicyclists have had an injury or two over the years they’ve been riding, and it is important that the doctor has a clear picture as to what was injured or exacerbated in this accident as opposed to prior injuries. The insurance company will try to exploit any previous injury, doubly so where you forget to mention the prior injury to the doctor. Make sure you give the doctor the whole story as to your injury history and present complaints.
If you have an attorney, doctors may be willing to treat your injury on a lien basis, which means the doctor will wait until the case settles to get paid (see details in
Personal Injury – Liens)
