Have You Been Injured While Bicycling?

Bicycling is great recreation and inexpensive transportation, which is why McKiggan hebert is a proud supporter of the Halifax Cycling Coalition. But if you are injured by a reckless or negligent driver while you are bicycling in or near the Halifax area, you’ll need to ask a Halifax bicycle accident lawyer to fight for the compensation and justice you need and deserve.

How is fault determined in bicycle-automobile accidents? What measures should you take if you’re bicycling and a reckless or negligent motorist injures you? Will you qualify to recover compensation for your medical bills? Will you require a lawyer’s services and advice?

If you will continue reading this short introduction to bicycle accidents, liability, and your rights in Nova Scotia if you become injured because of someone else’s negligence, you will find the answers that you and your loved ones may be seeking.

Take These Steps After a Bicycling Accident

Make sure that the police are called and that they conduct an accident investigation. You’ll need to exchange personal and insurance contact information with the vehicle driver. If you are injured in a bicycle accident, your first and foremost priority should be to get medical attention.

Take photographs of the scene, the damages to your bicycle, and your injuries. After you’ve been treated by a medical provider, promptly schedule a consultation with a Nova Scotia bicycle accident lawyer who can explain your rights and take legal action to recover your compensation.

Contact an injury lawyer as quickly as you can after you receive medical treatment. Your lawyer should review any evidence before it goes missing, gets misfiled, or before witnesses’ memories face.

The law in Nova Scotia entitles the injured victim of a negligent motorist to recover compensation for current and projected future medical costs, lost earnings and projected future lost earnings, pain and personal suffering, and other related damages and losses.

How Do You Prove Another Party Was Negligent?

If you’re injured by a negligent motorist while you are riding a bicycle in the Halifax area, do not make a statement to an insurance company, do not sign any insurance documents, and don’t accept any settlement offer until you have consulted a Halifax bicycle accident lawyer who can explain your legal rights and obligations.

Your lawyer will examine the evidence, the police and medical reports, and witness statements for evidence of the other driver’s liability. If you pursue a personal injury claim after a bicycle accident, these questions about the accident and your injuries must be addressed and answered:

  1.  What evidence is there for the other driver’s negligence?
  2.  To any extent, were your injuries your own fault?
  3.  Did you wear a helmet at the time of the accident?
  4.  If the accident occurred at night, did you have lights and reflectors on the bike?
  5.  Did you have any pre-existing medical condition or injury?
  6.  Have you been unable to work due to your injuries? For what length of time?

To negotiate effectively with the at-fault motorist’s insurance company, your lawyer will seek answers to these questions, and in some cases, your lawyer will ask a medical expert or accident reconstruction specialist to make a statement or provide testimony in support of your claim.

What is Your Accident Lawyer’s Role?

Most injury claims in Nova Scotia are resolved when the lawyers for both sides meet out-of-court in private settlement negotiations, but if liability for your bicycle accident is disputed, or if a reasonable settlement offer isn’t forthcoming, your lawyer will bring your injury claim to trial.

If the claim cannot be settled by agreement, a trial may be necessary. At a trial, your lawyer will explain to a judge or a jury how (and to what extent) you were injured, and your lawyer will then explain why the judge or jury should find in your favour and order the payment of your compensation.

What Else Should You Know?

When a car or truck strikes a bicycle, the injuries may be catastrophic or permanently disabling. Any blow or jolt to the head – even if you wear a bicycle helmet – could cause a brain injury. Seek medical help immediately if you receive a blow to the head in a bike crash (even if you were wearing a helmet).

Without immediate detection, brain injuries may become serious medical conditions after several days or weeks. Bicycle riders are also at risk for limb and spinal cord injuries that could require amputation.

Even if you feel perfectly healthy and normal after a bicycling accident, have a medical examination – within 24 hours if possible. A medical exam protects you both medically and legally and provides documentation that you will need in order to bring a personal injury claim.

What Safety Measures Can You Take?

A bicyclist must have the appropriate safety gear and take the proper bicycling precautions. Everyone who rides a bicycle should know and adhere to these fundamental safety basics:

  1.  Obey the traffic rules just like car, bus, and truck drivers.
  2.  Whenever you ride, wear a bicycle helmet.
  3.  Check your brakes and tire pressure at least once a week.
  4.  Try to avoid bicycling after dark. You can’t have too many reflectors and lights.
  5.  Never consume drugs or alcohol before riding a bicycle.

Taking a bicycling safety course is always a smart idea. If you’re a parent, taking your kids to a bicycling safety course helps them understand the rules and learn what safety precautions they need to take.

How Should You Choose a Lawyer?

When your health and your future are at stake, you can’t put your case in the hands of an untested or inexperienced personal injury lawyer. After a serious bicycling injury, you’ll need to be advised and represented by a Nova Scotia bicycle accident lawyer who:

  1.  can prove that you were injured because someone else was negligent
  2.  understands how to negotiate with the insurance companies
  3.  knows how to prevail with your claim if your case goes to trial
  4.  will fight aggressively and effectively for the compensation and justice you need

The award-winning team at McKiggan Hebert Lawyers has decades of experience successfully handling personal injury claims for their clients in and near the Halifax area. Our record of success speaks for itself. We know what it takes to win compensation for our clients.

If you bring a bicycle accident injury claim, you pay no lawyer’s fee to McKiggan Hebert unless and until we recover the compensation you are entitled to by law. To learn more or to start the legal process, call McKiggan Hebert Lawyers in Halifax at (902) 706-2298 to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation case review.