By: Ricardo A Gracia
Serving Residents Throughout Hidalgo County and all of Texas.
If you have been seriously injured while riding a bike, Our McAllen bicycle accident lawyers at the Law Firm of Ricardo A. Garcia will fight the insurance companies to obtain maximum compensation!
McAllen Bike Accident Lawyer
A bike accident can cause some serious injuries and expenses. If you have been injured, you need a skilled personal injury lawyer with bicycle accident experience. They will not only protect your rights, but ensure you are compensated fairly for your injuries, medical bills, lost wages and other damages.
Ricardo A. Garcia has over 30 years of experience as a personal injury trial lawyer with 1000s of cases won, and many multi million dollar verdicts.
If you were injured while riding a bike, you need to hire the best attorney in Mcallen, call us today to schedule your free consultation.
Obtaining Compensation For Bicycle Accidents
After a bike accident, you can receive compensation for your losses. The type and amount of damages you receive will depend on the circumstances of your case, but can include:
- Current and Future Medical and Dental Expenses: You may be able to recover costs associated with inpatient or outpatient care, medical equipment, and hospital visits. This can include surgery, medication, ongoing physical therapies, and drugs.
- Lost Wages: This provides payment for lost income during any period of time your injuries leave you unable to work.
- Loss of Earning Capacity: Similar to lost wages, damages for loss of earning capacity take into account the permanent or long-term impact the accident has had on your ability to earn a living.
- Pain and Suffering: This provides compensation for the physical pain and emotional distress you’ve suffered.
- Wrongful Death: If a bike accident causes severe enough injuries to result in death, the bicyclist’s surviving loved ones may be able to recover wrongful death damages.
Texas Bicycle Laws
It’s important to read up on Texas biking laws so you’ll know your rights as a rider.
- Cyclists have the same rights and duties as motorists.
- When using a bicycle at night, you should wear a white light in front and red lights or reflectors at the back.
- Every cyclist riding on a roadway shall ride as close as they can to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
- Persons riding bicycles on a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on pathways or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
- Motorists must maintain a safe distance when passing cyclists.
How A Bicycle Accident Lawyer Can Help You
You should contact a lawyer immediately if you’ve been riding a bicycle and have suffered a collision. In Texas, you have two years following the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you wait too long, you may lose evidence or your claim will fall outside the statute of limitations.
A knowledgeable Rio Grande Valley bicycle accident lawyer can:
- Evaluate your case and determine who’s liable
- Gather and preserve evidence
- Negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf
- Represent you in court if necessary
Bike accidents can have serious, long-lasting consequences. You shouldn’t have to find out after the fact that you’re owed compensation.
Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents & Injuries
Accidents involving bicycles occur often in Mcallen, and the Rio Grand Valley. A few of the most common causes of bicycle accidents include:
- Preoccupied drivers: Driving while looking at your phone or distracted makes it very easy to not see a cyclist.
- Speeding: Excessive speed can limit a driver’s reaction time. Making it tough to avoid hitting a cyclist.
- Drunk Drivers: Intoxicated drivers have slower reaction times and poor decision-making. This makes them a danger to everyone else on the road. Bicyclists are especially vulnerable to collisions because of their lack of protection, small size and lesser visibility.
- Failure to Yield to a Cyclist: Drivers can cause serious injuries if they fail to stop or yield the right of way to cyclists at intersections and crosswalks.
- Failure to See a Cyclist: Drivers sometimes are not able to see a cyclist, especially in locations with heavy traffic or many cyclists.
Common Injuries in a Bicycle Accident
Bicycle accidents often result in a wide range of injuries, some of which can be life-altering. These include:
- Head Injuries: Concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and skull fractures can impact your coordination and cognition. This can lead to lifelong disability and affect your ability to work.
- Spinal Injuries: Damage to the spinal cord can result in paralysis or chronic back pain.
- Fractures and Broken Bones: These types of injuries are common in arms, legs, and ribs after a bike accident.
- Dental Injuries: Broken or knocked-out teeth are also common after a bike accident, even if you’re wearing a helmet.
- Lacerations and Abrasions: You may suffer from cuts and road rash from contact with the pavement.
- Internal Injuries: Serious bike accidents can damage internal organs, which may not be immediately apparent. This is why you should always seek medical attention after an accident, even if you feel fine at first.
- Fatal Injuries: Severe cycling accidents can lead to permanent disability or even fatality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do after being injured in a bicycle accident?
- There are several things that must be done after a bicycle accident to make sure you have a solid claim
- Make sure that the accident gets properly reported. This means reported to either the police department or the local sheriff’s office.
- If you’re hurt, go to the hospital immediately. It’s also important that you follow up with your family doctor to look for injuries that were left untreated at the hospital that need to be treated immediately.
- Hire an attorney experienced in this type of accident, so they can make sure that everything is done in a timely manner.
- An investigation of surveillance videos, and the area where the accident happened.
- Examine the bicycle to see if it had any reflector lights on it or if it had any problems, and so it needs to be preserved.
- Potentially hire an expert for additional investigation and studies.
What mistakes should I avoid after a bicycle accident?
- Some of the common mistakes that we see people make after being involved in a bicycle accident is that they don’t call 911 to report it. This is very important in order to have that documentation on record and to preserve evidence for the future.
- Another mistake is forgetting to document witness information, which is needed for an attorneys investigation.
- Not seeking attorney advice
- Hiring an attorney that does not specialize in these types of cases
How do I pick the best attorney for my bicycle accident claim?
There are four things you should consider in making a decision as far as who the best lawyer is that you can hire. You should ask every lawyer the following questions:
- Is the lawyer a personal injury lawyer? Do they handle anything other than personal injury cases? They shouldn’t. For example we do not handle divorces, bankruptcies, or criminal cases; we devote ourselves to personal injury only.
- Are they a trial lawyer. That means that they will go to court, appear in front of judge and jury, while fighting on your behalf.
- Any lawyer can represent a client. You want to ensure you have a personal injury lawyer who can win your case! Look at their previous case wins.
- Is the lawyer board-certified? In other words, have they been recognized by the state of Texas. Having this certification means your attorney is in the top 3% of lawyers in this area of law. Attorney Ricardo A. Garcia is a board certified personal injury attorney.
How is a bicycle accident claim different than a car accident claim?
The amount of injuries that somebody suffers could be greater because they’re not going to have the typical protection of a car. The jury will often put the responsibility on the bicycle rider. An experienced lawyer can make the case on your behalf ensuring your rights are protected and the jury understands where responsibility and liability lies.
Will my insurance cover my bicycle accident injuries?
All insurance policies are different. Most of the time bicycle accidents are covered by insurance policies, especially if you have what’s known as PIP – personal injury protection – under your insurance policy.
Should I speak with insurance companies after a bicycle accident?
Our answer is no. Don’t talk to insurance companies. They’re not on your side. They are there to protect themselves and their insured client. Your statements will be recorded and used against you if you make a mistake. You need to find an attorney that speaks with the insurance company.
How long will my bicycle accident case take?
How much is my bicycle accident claim worth?
When it comes to bicycle accident claim value, we’re going to look at how and why the accident happened. Did the accident happen during the day? Did it happen during the night? There are several factors such as lighting and reflective gear.
From the driver’s perspective, we will investigate if they were texting while driving or talking on the phone. Were they distracted by somebody in the car? Were they distracted by a dog that was in the car? These are examples of factors that help us determine the value of the bicycle case.
We will also look at what type of vehicle hit the bicycle. Was it an 18-wheeler? Was it a car? Was it a bus or garbage truck?
The last factor is the amount of insurance carried by the liable party.
Our Mcallen Law Office Location
Mcallen Office
Address:
820 South Main St., McAllen, Texas 78501
Phone:
(956) 630-2882
Fax:
(956) 630-2882