Whether you ride your bicycle for health reasons, to benefit the environment, to save money, or another reason, cycling can be an excellent form of transportation. However, it can also be a dangerous method when you share the road with motor vehicles. Whether it is the largest 18-wheeler or the smallest compact car, a cyclist is much more vulnerable than the driver of a motor vehicle in the event of an accident or collision. In the aftermath of a bicycle car accident—when you’re in shock, trying to determine if you’re injured, and everything is happening quickly—it’s easy to say or do the wrong thing. Knowing what to do after you’ve been hit by a car on your bicycle can be the difference between receiving the full compensation you deserve under the law or being found at fault and receiving reduced compensation or even no compensation at all. If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle car accident, an experienced bicycle accident attorney at Lott Law may be able to assist you in filing a claim. Call (228) 215-2787 to schedule a consultation and learn more about your legal rights and options.
Why Bicycle Car Accidents Are More Severe Than Others
Any motor vehicle accident can have severe, and sometimes tragic, consequences. Factors such as speed, vehicle size, road conditions, and more all contribute to the severity of a crash. However, a bicycle car accident tends to be more severe than other motor vehicle accidents. There are several reasons for this, including:
- Weight and Size Disparity: Even the smallest compact car is considerably larger in physical size and weight than a bicycle. Larger objects tend to cause more damage to smaller ones.
- Speed Disparity: Cars and other motor vehicles move at much higher speeds than a bicycle. These higher speeds result in more severe injuries to a cyclist and damage to a bicycle.
- Lack of Protective Structure: While cyclists may wear helmets and sometimes elbow or knee pads, these offer minimal protection compared to the metal frame of a car. Without that protective structure, cyclists are more vulnerable to injury.
- No Protective Equipment: In addition to the lack of protective structure, there is also no protective equipment for a bicycle that compares to that of a car. There are no seatbelts or airbags to prevent the cyclist from being knocked off their bike or to cushion the blow of being hit by a car.
- Less Visibility: Many cyclists enjoy the smaller size of their bike for transportation, but that smaller size makes them less visible to cars. This can mean that drivers will not see the cyclist until it is too late, and they may hit the cyclist at a much higher speed than they would hit a car.
Possible Injuries You Can Sustain in a Bicycle Car Accident
Like other car or bicycle accidents, cyclists can sustain mild to severe injuries in these accidents. However, the increased intensity of a bicycle car accident tends to result in more severe injuries. Some of the injuries a cyclist may sustain when a car hits them on their bicycle include:
- Minor skin abrasions
- Soft tissue injuries (sprains, strains, lacerations, contusions)
- Dislocated shoulders or knees
- Dental fractures
- Broken bones (wrist, arm, leg, clavicle, shoulder, pelvis, hip, and ribs)
- Damage to internal organs
- Eye injuries or vision damage
- Head injuries (concussions, traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
What to Do After a Bicycle Car Accident
Both in the immediate aftermath of the accident as well as in the days and weeks following it, there will be a lot happening. Knowing what to do and what not to do can make an enormous difference in the outcome of your claim.
Immediately After the Accident
The first steps immediately after a bicycle car accident are to move to safety and call for help. When the accident has just happened, other drivers may not be aware of what happened, and even as they become aware, they may take unexpected actions to attempt to avoid the accident. By moving the cyclist, their bicycle, and the car involved to safety, the risk of further injury is reduced. The cyclist, the car’s driver, or other bystanders should also call police to report the accident and 9-1-1 for emergency medical assistance. Even if the cyclist feels unhurt or has no visible signs of injury, they should still seek a thorough medical evaluation. Some injuries are not apparent immediately, while others (such as internal bleeding) may not show any symptoms until it is too late.
If the cyclist feels up to it while waiting for medical assistance to arrive, they should also exchange the pertinent information with the other driver, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and insurance information. If the cyclist cannot do this, a bystander or a companion of the cyclist should help. Someone should also document the accident details to the best of their ability by writing an account of what they believe happened, taking photos and videos of the accident scene, bicycle, and vehicle, and asking witnesses for their contact information and a brief statement of what they saw.
In the Following Days and Weeks
In the days and weeks following the accident, the individual should see the doctor and continue any treatment plans ordered for their injuries. This is crucial as it begins building the claim, creating a paper trail of the individual’s injuries and related expenses. They should also keep a record of the after effects of the bicycle car accident and other details of post-accident life—such as headaches, pain, trouble sleeping, inability to attend school or work, inability to attend their children’s activities, family events, vacations, or weddings, or other interference with daily life.
It’s also important to keep any physical evidence from the accident as well. This includes the damaged bike, safety gear such as helmets or knee pads, clothing they wore, sunglasses, or any other personal property they had with them. This evidence helps paint the picture of the severity of the incident and can strengthen the claim by showing the extent of property damage and the force of the impact. Individuals may also want to consult with a personal injury attorney at Lott Law to learn more about what they should be doing to protect their rights and their bicycle car accident claim.
What Not to Do
While there are many things to do in the aftermath of an accident, there are also many things individuals should not do. Cyclists should not admit or accept fault in the accident, nor should they attempt to negotiate with the vehicle’s driver. They should not tell the driver or anyone else at the accident scene that they feel okay, fine, unhurt, uninjured, or any other words that may indicate a lack of injury. Anything said at the accident scene may be used later to attempt to disprove the cyclist’s injuries and property damage, so it is important to say as little as possible.
Injured cyclists should also not speak to the driver’s insurance without an attorney representing them. Insurance adjusters have extensive training, knowledge, and experience in looking for ways to reduce the value of a claim or to deny the claim altogether. This puts the cyclist at a disadvantage, which an attorney may be able to mitigate by telling the cyclist which questions to answer, which to refuse to answer, and offering advice on specific answers to give. Additionally, injured cyclists should not stop medical treatment, as this can be used to reduce or deny the claim. Finally, cyclists should not wait to file their claim. Miss. Code Ann. §15-1-49 provides three years from the accident date to file the claim before it is barred permanently. While cyclists may be reluctant to sue, or want to focus solely on their recovery before filing their lawsuit, waiting may cost them the compensation they are entitled to under the law.
Recoverable Damages in Bicycle Car Accidents
The Centers for Disease Control reports that accidents between cars and bikes cost more than $23 billion per year in the United States, including healthcare expenses and lost wages. Cyclists who have been injured in bicycle car accidents are entitled to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for their damages. The precise amount of these damages will vary by case, depending on several factors, including the severity of the cyclist’s injuries, lost income, and fault or liability. Miss. Code Ann. §11-7-15 provides that when someone is found to be partially liable for their own injuries, they can still recover damages, but those damages will be reduced by the individual’s fault proportion. This is called pure comparative fault and allows the injured cyclist to recover damages regardless of the amount of fault assigned to them.
Damages that may be recovered in a bicycle car accident include:
- Medical expenses such as exams, prescriptions, surgeries, hospitalizations, rehabilitation, and physical therapy
- Lost wages and reduced potential future earning capacity
- Property damage including the bicycle, safety gear, clothing, and any other personal property damaged in the accident
- Rehabilitation and assistive devices such as crutches, wheelchairs, and grab bars
- Loss of enjoyment of life
In cases where the driver’s behavior is found to be particularly reckless or malicious, the cyclist may also be able to ask for punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish the driver and deter them and others from engaging in the same or similar behavior in the future. Punitive damages are rare and will likely require additional evidence of the driver’s behavior.
How a Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Can Assist You
The benefits of riding a bicycle are extensive, but they come with significant risk as well. With multiple studies finding that motorists are overwhelmingly responsible for accidents between cars and bikes, you must be prepared for the possibility of being injured in an accident. With only a helmet and light padding to protect you, the injuries you may sustain could be serious. At Lott Law, our experienced Mississippi personal injury attorneys may be able to assist you with gathering and preserving evidence, building a strong case, negotiating with insurance companies, and representing you in court, if necessary. You deserve someone who will fight tirelessly to protect your rights and get you the compensation you deserve under the law. Call (228) 215-2787 to schedule your complimentary consultation and learn more about the legal rights and options available to you under Mississippi law.