A Vallejo bicycle accident attorney experienced in handling bicycle accident injuries caused by negligence can help an injured rider obtain fair compensation. Call our legal team at (707) 564-1900 or (800) 404-5400 for a free case evaluation.

Under personal injury law, anyone who is injured by another person’s or entity’s negligence can place a claim for the following damages:

• Medical costs these days can be frighteningly high. An injured cyclist can face charges for ambulance, hospital, and emergency room fees, surgeries, tests, medications, and more. A personal injury lawyer can recover those expenses for a client, including anything that pertains to medical treatment, including out-of-pocket costs for trips to the doctor and home health care.
• Future medical costs are covered as well. Some people can face an extended period of recovering from their injuries, and others suffer permanent damage such as a lost limb, traumatic brain injury, or spinal cord damage. Future medical expenses can be calculated and recovered, providing peace of mind that their needs will be cared for.
• Lost wages come from being unable to work because of the injury. In some cases, lost time at work means the injured person will not receive their usual bonuses and other perks of their job. This can be recovered through a personal injury claim. That financial cost is recoverable if the employed person cannot return to their job or has to be demoted or retrained. Personal injury claims also cover those who are self-employed.
• Noneconomic damages such as loss of consortium, mental anguish, and the pain and suffering the rider experience can be recovered.

Increasing their safety while bicycling can help riders avoid injury and liability in an accident. Some of the suggestions, including those provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that can help with this include:

• Ensure your bicycle is the right size for you.
• Wear a helmet. Helmets help protect you from head and brain injuries.
• Always travel in a designated bike lane whenever possible.
• Follow all traffic laws.
• Always keep at least one hand on your handlebars. Wearing a fanny pack or backpack can carry objects you need to take along.
• Leave your radio and earphones at home. Bicycle riders need to hear the traffic around them.
• Use hand signals when turning so motorists sharing the roadway know your intentions.
• Stay on the right-hand side three feet from cars parked at the curb.
• Wear bright-colored clothing. This makes you more visible to drivers and pedestrians.
• Don’t ride in a vehicle’s blind spot or follow too closely.
• Before heading out, ensure your bicycle is in good operating condition.
• Wear reflective clothing at night. Never wear black because it makes you less visible.
• Under California law, bicycles must have a white light in the front that projects at least 300 feet, which increases their safety. Bikes must also have a red reflector that projects 500 feet on the back. They must also use yellow and white reflectors on the sides that are visible 200 feet away from the low-beam headlights of a motor vehicle.
• Bicyclists must also use a yellow or white reflector on the front wheel and a red or white reflector on the wheel in the rear. They can also use reflectorized tires too.

For more bicycle safety tips, watch the video below from UCLA Health.

Motorists and others using the streets and roadways around Vallejo are expected to exercise a duty of care toward others. This means they obey traffic laws and do not endanger others by negligence. If that duty of care is breached and causes someone an injury, that person can be held financially liable. Your bicycle accident lawyer in Vallejo can help you obtain the compensation you deserve. Some examples of types of motorist negligence that can cause a bicycle accident include:

• Going above the speed limit or driving too fast in inclement weather or when passing through a construction site
• Running a red light or stop sign can endanger a bicyclist
• Turning at an intersection into the path of a bicycle rider
• Making an unsafe lane change
• Intruding on a bicycle lane by ignoring the three-foot distance rule
• Distracted driving, such as talking on a cell phone or texting
• Failure to yield when the bicycle rider has the right of way
• Drunk or drugged driving endangers everyone on the road

Our office at AutoAccident.com is dedicated to helping those injured through negligence get the compensation they deserve. This means that solid proof must be gathered to support their claim. We immediately dispatch our investigators to the accident scene to collect that evidence, which starts with interviewing witnesses and checking for mistakes in the police report.

Because live footage is essential evidence, they search for digital business and traffic surveillance cameras that capture the bicycle accident. In addition, they conduct accident reconstruction, which shows where the bicycle and at-fault driver were before, during, and after the crash.

Other evidence is also gathered, including possible traffic infractions, negligence such as drunk driving, etc. Poor road maintenance can also contribute to crashes such as potholes, missing signs, and overhanging foliage. The government can be held responsible when these accidents add to an injury. When the evidence has all been gathered, our lawyers use it to build a strong case that favors our client. This helps dealings on the client’s behalf with the insurance company or preparing a court case if it comes to that.

Hurt in a bike crash in the Vallejo area? Our experienced Redding bicycle accident attorneys at AutoAccident.com have handled bicycle accident cases since 1982. Contact our law firm today to schedule a confidential case evaluation for free, friendly advice at (707) 564-1900 or (800) 404-5400. See how our law firm has handled past cases on our Settlements and Verdicts page.

^{Editor’s Note: updated [cha 8.22.23] Image by Mabel Amber from Pixabay cd llo [cs 1276]}