Syracuse is a very bike-friendly city. People who live in the city often use bicycles to get around town, and there are many cycling trails around the area. Unfortunately, bicycle accidents are known to happen, and bike riders may be severely hurt.
Traffic violations, distracted driving, and an unfair bias against bike riders lead to many bicycle crashes. After a bike crash, you can often sue the driver who hit you and any other drivers who might have contributed to the collision. Although you were not driving at the time of the accident, you can still use auto insurance to cover your accident. Potential damages in a bike accident include economic losses like replacing your bike or paying for medical care. You can also claim non-economic injuries like pain, suffering, and humiliation.
Negligent drivers should be brought to justice after causing accidents with bike riders. Our Syracuse bicycle accident lawyers are prepared to take your claims to court and get financial compensation for your injuries. Call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 to schedule a free case review.
Typical Causes of Bicycle Accidents in Syracuse
While there are many potential causes of bike accidents, most are the results of driver negligence. Drivers often disregard bike riders and do not show them the same courtesy and respect they show to other drivers on the road. As a result, bike riders are at serious risk of being hit by cars. If you were hit by a car while riding your bike, contact our Syracuse bicycle accident lawyers for help immediately.
There is an unfair bias against bike riders on the road. Drivers and bike riders must share the road, and the same traffic code governs both. However, drivers often disregard or outright ignore the presence of bike riders on the road. Rather than yield to bike riders, drivers in cars often assume bike riders must yield to them instead. Many crashes have happened because drivers were not looking out for bike riders.
Distracted driving is a leading cause of accidents across the country, and bicycle accidents are no exception. One of the biggest distractions behind the wheel is handheld communication devices (e.g., cell phones). Texting or making phone calls while driving leads to severe accidents, and a distracted driver could easily hit a bike rider.
Traffic violations may also lead to collisions. For example, when a driver makes a turn without signaling, a bike rider in the bike lane next to the car might be severely injured. While bike riders are also bound by the traffic code, drivers pose a great risk to biker safety when they commit traffic violations.
Who to Sue After a Bicycle Accident in Syracuse
It might be difficult to figure out who you should sue after a bike accident. Bicycle accidents with vehicles are often traumatic, and injured bike riders often report not remembering anything. Our Syracuse bicycle accident lawyers can help you identify those responsible for the crash so we can hold them accountable in court.
You can sue the driver of the vehicle who hit you if we can identify them. In most cases, drivers will stop, render aid, and call for help if they hit a bike rider. Unfortunately, hit and run accidents sometimes happen, and drivers flee the scene without stopping to help. In many cases, injured bike riders have no idea who hit them. We might need to wait for a police investigation to locate the negligent driver before we can file a lawsuit.
In some bike accident cases, multiple drivers share some degree of blame. For example, two drivers engaging in an illegal street race would both be to blame for a collision with a bike rider. Alternatively, one driver might dangerously cut off another, causing the second driver to strike a bike rider while trying to swerve away from the first driver. These kinds of cases are known to be complex, and our Syracuse bicycle accident lawyers can help you sort through all the details.
Does Car Insurance Affect a Bicycle Accident Case in Syracuse?
Many injured bike riders are surprised to learn that auto insurance may cover their accident. If you have car insurance, you can file a claim regarding the accident because only one vehicle needs to be involved. Since New York is a no-fault insurance state, injured bike riders must file claims with their own insurance policies. The benefit of this system is that injured riders do not need to prove who was at fault to get coverage. The bad side is that your right to sue the other driver might be limited.
You can file a lawsuit, but you may need to meet New York’s “serious injury” threshold. According to I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), if you file a no-fault insurance claim for the accident, you cannot recover for non-economic damages in a lawsuit unless you suffered a serious injury. A serious injury is defined under I.S.C. Law § 5102(d) and includes death, significant disfigurement, dismemberment, broken bones, loss of a fetus, permanent loss or limitation of a body part, organ, or function, or any non-permanent injury that prevents you from doing substantially all normal daily tasks.
Our Syracuse bicycle accident attorneys can help you navigate the insurance process and prove that you have a serious injury so you can recover non-economic damages. Bike riders are very vulnerable in an accident and often suffer significant injuries, so meeting the serious injury requirement may be simple.
Possible Damages in Syracuse Bicycle Accidents
Economic damages in your lawsuit refer to the financial toll the accident took on your life. Prominent among these costs are medical bills. As mentioned above, bike riders are at a high risk of serious injury in accidents, and medical bills are often very expensive. If you are so badly injured that you need long-term care, you can also claim your future medical expenses in your lawsuit.
Non-economic damages are harder to describe as they relate to subjective personal experiences. For example, your mental and physical pain and suffering deserve compensation even though they are not directly connected to a monetary value. You can also claim non-economic damages for the loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, and more. Our Syracuse bicycle accident lawyers can help you calculate damages to get the greatest compensation possible.
Speak to Our Syracuse Bicycle Accident Lawyers About Your Case
If you were hit by a car while riding your bike, our Syracuse bicycle accident lawyers can help you file a lawsuit against the negligent rivers. For a free review of your case, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.