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Bike injuries. Man cyclist fell fell off road bike while cycling
Bike injuries. Man cyclist fell fell off road bike while cycling. Bicycle accident, injured knee.
If you like riding a bike around your city, you can lose weight, spend time with friends and family who also ride, and tone your muscles. However, you must also consider the danger when you’re around cars. Even though drivers know they should share the road with cyclists, some don’t necessarily do as good of a job as they should.
If a driver hits you when you’re riding a bike, you may want to contact a Houston bike accident lawyer. If you do, you should locate one specializing in these lawsuits. You can find lawyers who know about all kinds of automotive personal injury cases. Locating one who does bike-related accidents in particular increases the chances that you’ll win our case.
You must go through several steps before you reach a point where you might reach out to a lawyer, though. We’ll run through all of them right now.
Get the Driver’s Information
Let’s imagine a scenario for a moment. You’re riding your bike by the side of the road. You’re wearing your helmet. You’re riding with traffic and not against it like the law says you should. Suddenly, you feel an impact from behind. You realize a car hit you. You fall off your bike and onto the ground.
This moment might shock you, but you must take action if you can. What you do in the minutes that follow the wreck can impact your life significantly, especially if you just sustained any serious injuries.
If the car that hit you drives off, try to remember any details about it that you can. Hopefully, the driver will stop to help you, but some unscrupulous motorists won’t do that. You might have a teenage driver who panics at that moment and feels they can get away with hitting you if they drive away fast enough. You might also have a driver without insurance who knows the court will take their license if they stay there and wait for the police.
Assuming the driver stopped, you should get their information. Get their name, license plate number, and insurance information.
Call 911 to Report the Accident
If you have your phone on you and you’re not too injured, call 911 at this point. You should make sure to get your bike and yourself out of the road before you do. You don’t want to remain on the road where another car might hit you.
Tell the 911 operator what happened. If you know your location, tell them that. You should also tell them if you believe you have sustained any injuries. If you have, they will send an ambulance too.
If you’re injured too badly for any of this, you must hope the driver will handle it. Failing that, someone else passing by might do it. If the driver drove off and left you, then you must hope a Good Samaritan will find you. Such people do still exist in the world.
Take Pictures or Video at the Scene
If you’re not injured too badly, you can try to take some pictures and videos at the scene. Take pictures or a video of the car that struck you, the driver, their license, their license plate, and your injuries. Take a video or pictures of the bike if the vehicle damaged it. Try to make it obvious in the pictures the time of day, the traffic conditions, etc. All of that might come in handy as evidence later if you end up suing the driver.
Get Medical Attention if You Need It
When the police arrive, you can tell them what happened. Omit nothing, but also don’t embellish any details. Give a straightforward account of the facts. If you can’t handle talking to the police at that moment because the accident hurt you badly, have the ambulance take you to the hospital. A doctor can examine you. You can give the police a detailed report later.
Make sure the doctor gives you a thorough examination at the hospital. You should also reach out to a family member or friend and let them know what happened if you haven’t done that yet. You can also check on your bike’s status. Usually, the police will take possession of your bike after a crash, and you can collect it later.
Consider Whether Hiring an Attorney Makes Sense
Once the hospital says you can go, you can head home and assess your situation. If the driver who hit you stopped, and they have insurance, their insurance policy might cover your medical bills. It may also cover your lost wages if you have to miss work in some instances.
If you feel the other driver caused the accident, and their insurance doesn’t cover your lost wages, medical bills, and any non-economic damages, such as the pain and suffering you feel, that’s when suing the driver probably makes sense. If the driver who hit you acted recklessly, winning a lawsuit against them becomes more likely. If you can’t prove reckless or irresponsible behavior by the driver, though, then you might find winning a lawsuit challenging.
Consulting a lawyer and asking for their opinion makes sense. If you locate an attorney who knows about bike accidents, they can speak authoritatively about the situation. If they feel like you have a case, they will probably eagerly represent you.
If the driver who hit you drove off without stopping, then you must hope the police will catch them. It’s probable that they will.
Many streets have traffic cameras. Even if there’s no camera right by the crash site, then one a few streets over might catch the driver. If you remember anything about the vehicle’s model or color, tell the police about it. That should help them in their hunt.
Bike accidents can injure you severely. If that happens, you must consider your next move carefully. Whether you pursue a lawsuit or not, you might think twice before riding a bike again.
