​Bloomfield Hills Bicycle Accident Lawyers

As a bicyclist in Bloomfield Hills, you have legal rights under Michigan law. You also have protections under common law, which requires a driver to exercise due care on the roads. When you have suffered an injury in a bicycle accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation if you prove that someone else caused the accident.

The legal process does not happen overnight; it takes hard work to get fully paid for your damages after a bicycle accident. Therefore, call a bicycle accident lawyer for the legal help you need after an accident.

Your phone call should be to the Michigan Injury Lawyers. Our Bloomfield Hills bicycle accident attorneys have a track record of delivering results for our clients when they have suffered an injury by someone else’s carelessness. The legal process begins when you contact us to schedule your free initial consultation. We are standing by and ready to help you.

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Michigan Bicycle Accident Statistics

In one recent year, 1,235 bicyclists were in accidents with motor vehicles. Most bicyclists suffered some type of injury in these crashes, with 927 reported injuries. There were a total of 38 fatalities in these accidents.

Nationwide, bicycle accident fatalities have been increasing. Even though car accident fatalities remained steady last year, the number of people killed in bicycle accidents increased 8 percent. This increase is the latest in a steady rise in serious bicycle accidents nationwide.

The situation is getting worse because:

• Laws to protect bicycles have proven insufficient or ineffective.
• Despite numerous bicycle safety campaigns, very few get through to drivers who injure cyclists.
• More people have taken to bicycling as a means of transportation and exercise, especially during the pandemic.
• Of deteriorating roads throughout in Bloomfield Hills, and design for bicycle safety is often the government’s last priority. This doesn’t make sense.

If you need help following a bike crash, contact Michigan Injury Lawyers immediately.

Michigan Laws that Protect Bicyclists on the Road

In Michigan, drivers have a duty to share the road with a bicyclist. If you are riding a bike, you have the legal right to be in a traffic lane if you can ride up to the speed of traffic. If not, you must ride as close to the right as practicable. Bicyclists have a legal right to ride up to two abreast in traffic. They must signal their turns and follow the laws that a driver should on the road.

Michigan law is that a motorist must give a bicyclist at least three feet of space when trying to pass them. Some municipalities in the state have enacted more strict ordinances that require five feet of space when passing. If a driver gets too close to the bicyclist, they may collide with them or force them off their bike to the ground.

Bicyclists Will Often Suffer Serious Injuries

As you can see from the above statistics, there is little chance that a bicyclist will walk away unscathed when they have been in an accident with a motor vehicle. There is little to protect the bicyclist from impact with the car (wearing a helmet can help reduce some of the severity of head injury, but it does not keep you entirely safe). After the initial impact, the bicyclist may be thrown through the car’s windshield or onto the pavement.

Here are some common bicycle accident injuries:

• Broken bones and fractures
• Internal injuries and organ damage
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Back and neck injuries
• Cuts and lacerations

You may end up facing a lengthy rehabilitation from your bicycle accident injuries, if you can even recover fully at all. Your medical treatment can include multiple surgical procedures and a lengthy hospital stay. You can face tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills or more. Fortunately, Michigan Injury Lawyers is ready to help.

How You Can Win Your Bicycle Accident Case

A bicycle accident case is like any other personal injury claim in that you need to prove that the driver of the car was the cause of your injuries. The legal test in a bicycle accident case is whether the driver was negligent. If you cannot prove negligence in your case, you may not be in line to receive financial compensation for your injuries.

Negligence means that the driver has not acted as a reasonable motorist should under the circumstances. A driver owes a duty of care to those around them on the road, including the cyclists with whom they are legally obligated to share the roadway.

Here are some ways that a driver can cause a bicycle accident:

• Not allowing enough room when they are trying to pass a bicyclist
• Failing to yield the right of way when they are legally required to do so
• Failing to see the bicyclist because they are driving distracted or they are speeding
• Illegal turn that cuts across the bicyclist’s lane and knocks them to the ground
• Opening a car door into a bike lane when the cyclist is passing by them

No matter what happens, you have the burden of proof to show negligence as the injured bicyclist. You might have injuries at the scene that are too serious to allow you to investigate your own bicycle accident. Still, you have an obligation to gather the necessary evidence to show that you are entitled to money. You need a Bloomfield Hills bicycle accident attorney from Michigan Injury Lawyers on board immediately, so we can begin gathering evidence and building your case.

How to Increase Your Chances of Success in a Bicycle Accident Case

There are some things that you need to do after a bicycle accident that can improve your chances of getting money for your accident injuries:

• Take care of your physical health by getting the medical treatment that you need, following all of the doctor’s recommendations, and taking all the prescribed medications
• Hiring an attorney to take care of your legal situation and begin the process of seeking financial compensation for your injuries

You Cannot Afford to Wait to Hire a Lawyer

Since you are preoccupied with your own injuries, you do not have the time or skill to perform the functions that your attorney will. Thus, you must hire a lawyer as soon as you can after the accident. The legal clock begins to tick no matter what you do.

Although you have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit in Michigan, you begin to lose critical evidence very shortly after your accident. In addition, the insurance company may start pressuring you to talk or accept a settlement when you do not have an obligation to do either.

One of the insurance company’s favorite tricks is to blame the bicyclist for the accident that injured them. The insurance company may claim that the bicyclist did not have the right-of-way or that they were unsafe themselves.

One way that an insurance company tries to reduce what they owe the bicyclist is to argue that the bicyclist should not receive any compensation because they were not wearing a helmet. This argument overlooks the fact that there is a significant chance that the bicyclist might have severe injuries, regardless of whether they were wearing a helmet.

Nevertheless, your attorney may need to spend time and effort defending you and your actions in a bicycle accident case. Otherwise, you may have your claim denied altogether or have your amount of compensation reduced.

How Much Can You Get in a Bicycle Accident Settlement?

Your bicycle accident compensation can be significant.

How much you get in a settlement check depends on:

• The scope and extent of the injuries that you have suffered
• How hard you fight for the money that you deserve

The insurance company will not make it easy for you to get money from them. They know what they have to pay you, but they do not want to give it to you. Their tactic is to do whatever is necessary to get you to go away for as little as possible. They can delay your case or take a hard line in negotiations. They think that time is on their side since they have the money.

No average compensation in a bicycle accident case will apply to your claim. You are not average, and your compensation is tied to what you experienced and will go through in the future.

In a bicycle accident case, you can seek compensation for:

• The costs of your medical treatment
• Lost income for time that you missed from work or a reduction in your earning capacity
• Pain and suffering for what you have endured since the accident
• The loss of the enjoyment of the life that you had before the accident
• Permanent scarring and disfigurement
• The embarrassment and humiliation of your injuries

If your loved one died in a bicycle accident, your family can file a claim or lawsuit under Michigan’s wrongful death law to seek compensation for your own personal injury that you suffered from losing a loved one.

The Numerous Complexities in Bicycle Accident Cases

Bicycle accident cases may be more complicated than other personal injury claims. First, you likely have been more seriously injured than you might be in a car crash. Thus, your injuries and damages may persist into the future. You need to estimate your future damages with precision.

Your check needs to provide enough money for when you need it. The last thing that you want is to only have enough money to pay your doctors for your medical care. If you do not get enough money in your bicycle accident settlement, you may not have anything left over to take care of your family. Once you sign the settlement agreement, you cannot go back and get more money.

In addition, bicycle accidents can result in larger-than-average compensation because of the severity of your injuries. When there is a larger check at stake, insurance companies tend to take a harder line. They want to make your larger check into a smaller one. Therefore, you will need to fight hard to get the highest possible compensation, which is difficult to do on your own.

The Benefits of Hiring a Bicycle Accident Lawyer

You should not try to deal with the insurance company without the help of an experienced lawyer. They thrive financially when they deal with self-represented claimants.

A bicycle accident lawyer can:

• Investigate your bicycle accident and gather the evidence you need to prove negligence.
• Estimate the value of your damages by reviewing your own situation closely.
• Answer all questions that you have and guide you through the legal process.
• Handle all communications with the insurance company, keeping them from trying to hector or trick you.
• Decide on the most effective way to seek financial compensation for your injuries (filing a claim with the driver’s insurance company or a lawsuit against them in court)
• Compile the claim to file with the insurance company or the lawsuit to file in court.
• Negotiate a potential settlement of your claim or lawsuit.
• Argue your case to the jury if you cannot reach a settlement agreement.

There are many things that your lawyer does that you do not have the experience to do on your own. Hiring an attorney is an investment in maximizing your own compensation, although you do not need to lay out any money upfront. You only pay a lawyer if you win your case. If you do not win, you owe them nothing for their time and legal services.

Contact a Bloomfield Hills Bicycle Accident Lawyer Today

If you have suffered an injury in a Michigan bicycle accident, you need legal help today. Our Bloomfield Hills personal injury attorneys at Michigan Injury Lawyers are here to fight for you because full financial compensation does not come easily. Call us today at (313) 438-4357 or reach out to us online to begin the legal process.

We will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of a settlement check for your injuries. You do not owe us anything unless you win your case.

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Bloomfield Hills Office Location

2525 S Telegraph Rd, Ste 100,
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

Telephone: (248) 454-0800
Toll Free: (888) 454-0801
Fax: (248) 456-8470

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