Bicycle Injury Compensation: How To Collect When You're Injured | Bike Accident | Claims Calculator

In this video attorney Jim Dodson (aka The Florida Bike Guy) talks about what you need to do to receive the bicycle injury compensation you deserve.

Whenever a bicycle injury lawyer looks at a bike crash, the first thing your lawyer is going to do is to prove that the driver, the other person, was at fault. Sometimes this is pretty easy to prove. Clearly, in those situations where the cyclist is at fault, then you're not gonna get very far with the injury claim. Sometimes, we have a problem where the defense is arguing that the cyclist maybe did not do what the law requires and they're arguing some comparative fault. So in Florida, you can compare the fault of the driver with the fault of the victim, if there is any. A good example might be that the cyclist was riding on a trail, comes to a stop sign, but doesn't completely stop. The driver comes to the stop sign and does stop, but then they go and there's a collision. If they can put some fault on the cyclist, successfully in their view, or they think they'd be successful in arguing that to a jury, then that's gonna minimize or cut down the percentage that they think they would have to pay the cyclist. So, if they can prove the cyclist was 25% at fault or 20% at fault, it would reduce the claim by that percentage.

The other thing that determines the compensation received after a bike accident is to look at the injuries the cyclist sustained. The biggest single factor, probably other than who was at fault, in evaluating a cycling injury claim is what are the injuries? How serious are they? What treatment is required? How long will the person need treatment? Will they be limited in their activities in the future? And, what are the expenses or the treatment that will be required to maintain them in their current position or something that may be required in the future? Here's an example. A cyclist is involved in a crash. They sustain a knee injury. They have surgery but the injury to the knee affected the joint surfaces of the knee. If the doctor's willing to testify that the joint surface will lead to post-traumatic arthritis, which will likely require future treatment options, and depending on how it affects them it could require a total knee replacement. So, a bicycle accident attorney must look very carefully, in terms of the value of someone's claim, not only to what happened immediately and the treatment that's required but what will the future require.

Many times it is common for cyclists to sustain a serious injury, where they have to go to the hospital and then have surgery. The hospital bill alone could be $100,000. If they have health insurance, Medicare, private health insurance, PIP, to the extent that it pays, that $100,000 bill is probably gonna be reduced down to say $35,000. So, out of that hospital bill of $100,000, the insurance company will probably pay maybe $30,000 depending on the nature of what's going on. The rest of it will be written off, typically, and what the attorney values the claim to be is how much the cyclist will owe the insurance company out of the settlement. Also, bear in mind that if the cyclist is represented by an experienced bicycle injury lawyer, typically they will get what they owe to the insurance company reduced by 20 or 25%.

And then, the big, looming question behind every bicycle injury claim, and one of the first questions lawyers ask their clients, is what is the insurance? What insurance does the driver have and what insurance does the cyclist have that might contribute to helping this injury claim get paid? So, with a bicycle crash, for instance, the lawyer will want to investigate what policy of insurance covered the driver or the owner of the vehicle involved in the crash. What company and how much liability insurance, if any, do they have? Then the question would typically be, does the cyclist have uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage on an auto policy in their name or perhaps in the name of a family member with whom they reside?

The value of a bike accident claim is dependent on several factors, which no claim calculator if they exist, will ever factor in. For instance, is the liability 100% on the driver, or is there some argument that the cyclist was 10% or 20% or 50% at fault in the crash? And how plausible is the argument being made by the insurance company in that regard? So, there is no claim calculator that anyone should ever rely upon in terms to try to determine the value of a case. The claims calculators have a hard time understanding the reality of how the world functions in terms of comparative fault, but also medical bills. Don't rely on claims calculators. Call an experienced bicycle injury lawyer for a free consultation. They will help you decide what is in your best interest to settle your claim otherwise you could end up getting way less and have to pay out-of-pocket expenses in the future.

[katijones]

Very helpful information, Jim! Thank you!

[jenniferquinn]

This is good to be able to look at the situation more objectively!! When you’re the one in the crash it’s easy to be emotional and subjective!