Bicycle accidents involving cars, trucks, and buses can leave victims with serious injuries.  If you were hit while riding your bike, there could be massive expenses you have to deal with, such as medical bills and lost wages.  For help getting these damages paid, turn to our experienced attorneys.

Our bicycle accident lawyers can help you file the appropriate claims to get compensation for your injuries.  Whether you faced mild to moderate injuries or serious, life-altering injuries, our lawyers can help fight for you.

For help from The Carrion Law Firm’s experienced bicycle accident attorneys for your Brentwood, Long Island injury case, call us today at (718) 841-0083.  We offer free case evaluations.

Proving Fault in a Bicycle Accident in Brentwood, NY

In Long Island towns like Brentwood, bicycles often have to share the road with cars, trucks, and buses – all much larger than bicycles and their riders.  In many crashes, these other vehicles are the ones whose drivers are liable for the crash, and our bicycle accident lawyers can help prove that in court.

Elements of a Bicycle Accident Case

To hold a driver accountable for an accident, you have to show that they violated a legal duty that they owed you.  New York traffic law often provides clear-cut duties – like the prohibitions on speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, or tailgating.  Some of these laws specifically deal with how to treat bike riders.

In addition to these explicit traffic laws, there are other legal duties drivers must follow based on what is reasonable behind the wheel.  For example, reasonable, prudent drivers typically slow down rather than speed up to avoid dangers, they keep both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road, and they do not let conversations with passengers distract them from driving.  If a driver did something that was not a violation of a traffic law but was nonetheless unreasonable given the situation at hand, they can be held liable for that.

You must also show that the violation or “breach” of that legal duty was what caused your accident.  If you did something else that contributed to the accident, the court could potentially find you and other parties partly liable, but that will only reduce your damages rather than blocking the other driver’s liability for their share of the crash.  If the accident was completely unavoidable, it is possible no one could be found at fault.

Lastly, you must prove that you faced damages because of the accident.  Damages typically include financial harms such as medical bills and lost wages as well as non-economic harms like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost enjoyment of life.

Evidence Needed

To get a court to believe your claim, you have to provide sufficient evidence.  Our bicycle accident lawyers can help you collect the necessary evidence and present it to the judge and jury.

The most common form of evidence is witness testimony.  You, as the victim, are also a “witness” to what happened and can testify as to what you saw and what happened leading up to the accident.  This information, plus testimony from other bystanders and drivers, will be especially helpful in proving your case.

Additionally, photos or video of the crash will be good evidence.  If you can take photos of the scene of the accident or if any nearby cameras or bystanders caught the crash itself on video, those images and recordings will be great evidence.

You should also note as much evidence as you can about road conditions, who was involved, when the crash happened, where the accident happened, and more.  This information should also be recorded in a police report, which means that calling 911 will be important after an accident.

You should also call 911 to get any medical treatment you need.  Serious injuries require medical treatment and failing to get treatment could be used against you in your case.  Medical records, testimony from your doctors, and other evidence like medical bills will be important to proving the damages in your case.  Our bicycle accident attorneys can help you track down all of this evidence and compile it for court.

Calculating Damages in a Bicycle Accident in Brentwood, NY

As mentioned above, proving your damages is one of the core elements of a bicycle accident case.  Calculating how much your case is worth must happen on a case-by-case basis; there is no way to accurately estimate your damages without this individualized examination.  Our bicycle accident lawyers can help you with this as part of a free case review.  However, the following guidelines can help you understand what damages are included in your claim and how much they could be worth.

Economic Damages

The compensation you claim for “economic damages” will typically have a clear price or amount tied to them.  Most of these damages come in the form of money you had to spend because of the accident, such as medical bills, expenses for childcare, medical transportation costs, and more.  Even the cost of replacing your bicycle or other property destroyed in the crash could count.

The rest of these economic damages come in the form of money you missed out on because of your injuries.  The primary damages people claim in this category deal with lost wages and lost future earnings.  If your bike accident injuries make it hard to return to work or keep you from returning at full capacity, you can claim damages for ongoing wage losses related to the crash.

Non-Economic Damages

Lastly, pain and suffering and other “non-economic damages” are usually more complex.  These damages have no clear price tag attached, and it is often through experience with other personal injury cases that our bicycle accident lawyers are able to assign a proper value to these damages.  A quick rule to understanding these damages is that more severe injuries with longer recovery times and a bigger impact on your life often result in higher pain and suffering damages than mild, short-term, or low-impact injuries.

Keep in mind, however, that damages for pain and suffering are often limited in cases without “serious injuries.”  Our attorneys can help you with these claims.

Call Our Bicycle Accident Lawyers for Accidents in Brentwood and Throughout Long Island

If you were hurt in a bike accident, call the Brentwood, NY bicycle accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm today.  For a free case assessment, call us at (718) 841-0083.