Common Bike Crash Scenarios and How Your Injury Lawyers Can Help You Win Your Case

You’re going to need a personal injury lawyer if you’ve had a bike crash on the street by fault of someone else. And if you live in New York, you have one particular state law on your side that’s going to help you tremendously if you’ve suffered an injury. Overall, though, you probably want to know what the most common bike accident scenarios are and what the legal outcomes may be for each one.

No matter how you were hit, the law firm of Frekhtman & Associates analyzes all existing laws and situations thoroughly to assure a strong case.

Being Hit by a Car or Other Vehicle

Most commonly, you’ll be hit by someone driving a car, bus or even a taxi while biking through New York City. Fortunately, you can use the New York “No Fault” law where you have up to 30 days to file a claim on a bike injury. But you’ll have to know the name of the person who hit you and what their insurance information is. Their insurance will be the ones who ultimately pay your medical bills as well as paying any litigation if there’s a lawsuit involved.

A Bike Accident From Street Issues

While less common, a crash on your bike due to a pothole, manhole cover or construction equipment can create more complex legal cases. Nevertheless, municipal authorities can be held responsible if they don’t maintain proper road maintenance. You simply have to prove that those authorities were aware of the situation and did nothing to repair it.

In the case of potholes, it can get a little more complicated. Only if the city had prior knowledge of the pothole and did nothing to fix it will you have a case. This can sometimes be complicated to prove. Regardless, it’s wise to take pictures or video of that pothole so it can be used in your case and reported widely as a deterrant to others.

Bike Messenger or Delivery Crashes

In these bike crash scenarios, you’ll be dealing with your employer who might be to blame in not providing you with enough safety equipment. New York law dictates that any business using bike messengers or deliverers have to wear a helmet, install a lamp, a bell, properly working brakes and reflectors. If your employer didn’t provide one or more of these things, you have a good case for a lawsuit against your employer.

You should still be able to go off workers compensation to help with medical bills. Keep in mind, though, that you can’t sue your employer if you take workers comp.

Hit and Run Cases

These type of bike crashes can be very unfortunate, especially when you’ve suffered serious injury. We’ll do our best to find out who that hit and run driver was so you can file a claim and lawsuit. If that person is never found, we’ll look at your car insurance and see if they provide an option for uninsured or underinsured drivers. Some car insurances do, and they’ll sometimes take a claim to handle your injuries.

Here at Frekhtman & Associates, we’ll work with you every step of the way through the above scenarios to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us if you’ve recently gone through a bike accident so we can get your case started.