Bike traffic is particularly heavy in the New York City area, and Harlem is no exception. With so many bicycles on the road, the possibility of bike accidents is significant, and bike riders might be badly injured.
Bike accidents often happen because drivers in cars are negligent. Bicycle riders are often found in bike lanes, although they may share traffic lanes with vehicles when there are no designated bike lanes. Unfortunately, drivers have difficulty sharing the road, and bike riders tend to pay the price. You can sue the driver who hit you if you were injured in a bike crash. You can claim damages for your economic losses, like medical bills, and non-economic injuries, like pain and suffering. To support your claims, you must have evidence. Our legal team can help you identify and gather the evidence you need to win your case.
Bike riders should be able to share the road in peace. If you were hurt in a bike accident because of a driver’s negligence, call our Harlem bicycle accident attorneys for a free review of your case. Call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.
How Bike Accidents Happen in Harlem
There are multiple ways in which a bike accident might occur. Cars and trucks are very large, heavy vehicles that can do a lot of damage to a bike and its rider. No matter how your accident happened, you should call for emergency help and then call our Harlem bicycle accident lawyers for assistance.
Bike riders are often found riding alongside traffic in bike lanes. Bike lanes can be found all over New York City, including Harlem, and are designed to separate bike traffic from vehicle traffic. Unfortunately, bike riders might still be injured by vehicle traffic in sideswiping accidents. Sideswiping occurs when a vehicle violently brushes up against another vehicle or object alongside it, often because the driver is not paying attention.
Dooring accidents also plague bike lanes because bike lanes tend to run alongside parking lanes. When bike riders are traveling in the bike lane, someone getting out of their car in the parking lane might swing their door open without checking for bike riders. When this happens, the bike rider might crash into the open car door and be seriously injured.
Collisions at red lights are also common causes of bike accidents. Bikes stop at and travel through traffic lights just like cars. This means that drivers in cars must be mindful of bikes when they enter intersections or make turns at intersections. If drivers are not paying attention, bike riders might be hit in the intersection.
Can I Sue After a Bicycle Accident in Harlem?
After a bike accident, you might have serious injuries and a lot of medical expenses. On top of that, you might need to repair or replace your bike and take time off from work to recover. In short, a bike accident might leave you with many sudden expenses you cannot afford. Our Harlem bicycle accident attorneys can help you file a personal injury lawsuit to get your damages covered.
Most personal injury lawsuits for bike accidents are based on the driver’s negligence. Negligence encompasses four critical legal elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. We need evidence to establish each element if we are to be successful.
Duty refers to the defendant’s legal obligation owed toward the bike rider. All drivers on the road have a duty to drive with reasonable safety under the circumstances and obey the traffic laws. The breach occurs when the defendant violates their duty. Exactly what the breach looks like will likely vary from case to case but often involves a traffic violation, inattentive driving, or another mistake by the driver. Causation is the connection between the breach and the accident. The accident must be the direct result of the breach. Finally, we must show that your damages are real, not imagined or hypothetical.
Damages Available in Harlem Bicycle Accident Cases
The damages are the primary focus of your personal injury lawsuit, and you should speak to our Harlem bicycle accident lawyers about the damages available in your case. Damages represent the losses and injuries you experienced because of the bike accident. Many damages are economic and stem from financial costs, while others are non-economic and are connected to subjective experiences.
Your economic damages should always include your medical bills. Bike riders are often seriously hurt in accidents and require emergency medical attention. Medical expenses, even for non-emergency care, are notoriously high, and you should add any medical bills and anticipated future medical bills to your total damages. You can also factor in the value of your damaged bike and lost income from missing work because of your injuries.
Non-economic damages are a bit more amorphous and harder to determine at first glance. They include subjective experiences like physical pain, emotional suffering, humiliation, and damage to your reputation. Our Harlem bike accident attorneys can help you assess your non-economic damages to determine how much they are worth so we can add them to your total damages.
Crucial Evidence in a Harlem Bike Accident Lawsuit
Your personal injury lawsuit hinges on evidence. Not only will you likely lose your case without evidence, but many courts might be unwilling to hear your case. A lot of important evidence might come straight from the bike crash scene, while other evidence can be sourced elsewhere. Our Harlem car accident lawyers have experience with evidence and can help you find and collect what you need.
One important piece of physical evidence we can utilize is your damaged bike. Your bicycle might have been sturdy and well-built, but it was likely no match for a two-ton vehicle. The damage to your bike might indicate the accident’s severity. Basically, the more mangled your bike, the more serious the crash. Presenting the damaged bike to a jury might convince them of the defendant’s negligence.
Immediately following your accident, you should take pictures or record videos of the accident scene. These pictures and videos help to preserve the accident scene and save crucial details for use in court. They also make it harder for the defendant to deny certain aspects of the accident because you have it all on camera.
Call Our Harlem Bicycle Accident Lawyers About a Free Case Assessment
If you were injured while riding your bike through the city, our Harlem bicycle accident lawyers can help you get compensation for your injuries and damages. For a free case assessment, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.