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The Reality of Bicycle Accidents

There are more than five hundred bicycle fatalities and 50,000 injuries resulting from a collision between a bicycle and an automobile each year. In fact, the fear of colliding with an automobile is perhaps the single greatest barrier to getting more people riding bicycles. Many people want to ride their bike but just feel like they are extremely vulnerable to injury or death. In truth, a large number of bicycle accidents don’t involve an automobile but are solo accidents which are caused by a defect in the bicycle itself or an unexpected road hazard.

Further, many bicycle victims are children who perhaps have not learned the appropriate safety rules before sharing the road with automobiles. Whether the bicycle accident is a solo accident or there is an automobile involved, there is generally negligence involved. The negligence may be on the part of the driver who was distracted or reckless or on the part of the bicyclist who was taking excessive risks in traffic. Should the driver be deemed to be negligent, the bicyclist has the legal right to be compensated for injuries and damages.

Driver Distraction as a Cause of Bicycle Accidents

Driver distraction is a huge cause of accidents, both in vehicle/vehicle as well as vehicle/bicycle or motorcycle. Drivers today tend to view the inside of their automobile as if it were their office. They will change radio stations, eat and drink, apply makeup, try to read a map, watch the billboards at the side of the road, turn around to discipline the children, chat with passengers, talk on their cell phone, text, and even read a book in traffic. All of these behaviors can lead to an accident with potentially fatal consequences.

Getting Medical Attention

When a bicyclist is hit by an automobile they should always be checked out at the emergency room even if they think they are “okay.” In many cases serious injuries can manifest once the adrenaline rush from the accident wears off. Minor injuries can morph into serious or permanent injuries at a time later on when it is too late to identify the negligent or distracted driver. If you are able, take photographs at the scene and try to identify any potential witnesses. Particularly if the driver who hit you drove off before you could obtain any information from them, your description of the scene may allow the police to find the driver and make them pay for your injuries.

Keeping Meticulous Records

Keep a detailed journal of every single detail you can think of that could be important down the line should a lawsuit be necessary to make the driver pay for your injuries and damages. You will want to carefully record all your physical symptoms and document through photos and notes the damage done to your bike as well. Never communicate with the insurance company prior to speaking with a highly experienced personal injury attorney. While they may sound like they want to help you, it is more likely they are simply gathering information to use against you later to deny your compensation. What you may see as an attempt to be honest could be turned on you later.

Finding an Attorney to Help With Your Bicycle Accident

Your attorney needs to have a thorough understanding of bicycle traffic laws, the prevailing prejudices against cyclists by motorists and how to best negotiate your bicycle accident case with the insurance company. Let your attorney advocate for your rights while you concentrate on healing your injuries.

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Dangerous Driver Conduct Which Leads to Serious Bicycle Accidents

Although bicycle riders are not all that uncommon, particularly in cities, many automobile drivers give them little thought other than to view them as an annoyance. The truth is a bicyclist is extremely vulnerable to serious or fatal injury when hit by a car. Although any act of negligence by a driver can lead to a grave accident, there are several behaviors exhibited by drivers which can be particularly dangerous to bicyclists. Many times auto drivers may become so impatient at an intersection they will turn in front of the bicyclist.

If they are making a left-hand turn the bicyclist’s path is effectively blocked, causing them to collide with the vehicle while if the automobile is making a left-hand turn they may knock the bicyclist completely over. Drivers should always ensure the bicyclist has cleared the intersection before attempting to turn and should dial down the impatience level in order to avoid injuring or killing a bicyclist who has every legal right to share the roadways.

Other Dangerous Behaviors

Drivers oftentimes will pass a bicyclist much too closely, either forcing them off the road or striking them with the side mirror. Many times a driver parked on the side of a street will open their door without even looking to see if anyone is coming. This is a primary way both motorcycle riders and bicyclists are injured or maimed. Drivers are also guilty of overestimating the braking ability of bicycles—bicycle brakes are not nearly as effective as car brakes. Added to this, a bicyclist who brakes suddenly may find themselves flying over the handlebars. Drivers also tend to underestimate the speed of a bicycle rider, causing them to make a turn or open a car door with little regard for the bicycle coming up close to them quickly.

The Negligence of Bicyclists

Bicycle riders can also ignore the rules of the road and end up actually being responsible for the accident in which they are hit by a car. Because it takes a fair amount of effort for a bicyclist to come to a complete stop at stop signs or intersections with traffic lights many are guilty of glancing both ways and going right on through. A stop sign and red light are meant for the bicyclist in exactly the same way they are meant for a driver. Bicyclists are often guilty of passing a line of stopped cars, however if the cyclist reaches the intersection at the same time the front car makes an unexpected right-hand turn, the consequences can be deadly. In some cases bicyclists ride at unsafe speeds, perhaps while going downhill or on a straight road. This can be dangerous, however, should the bicyclist lose control or encounter a road hazards and be unable to stop safely.

Safety Measures

All bicyclists should wear helmets, and children should be fully schooled in bicycle safety before they are allowed out on their own. Children rarely appreciate the risks of riding in an area where cars drive and may not fully understand the rules of the road as well. Children are also much more likely to be showing off for friends while on their bicycle, creating some special safety hazards. Bicyclists who have been injured by being hit by a driver who was driving unsafely should contact an attorney who has significant experience in bicycle accidents. Because there is a statute of limitations in bicycle accidents it’s important that you consult a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

 

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Defective Bicycles Can Mean Serious Injury for Vulnerable Mississippi Bike Riders

Bicyclists are extremely vulnerable when sharing the road with passenger vehicles with a minimum weight of 3,000 pounds, which explains why bicycle accidents send over a half a million people to the emergency room annually.  There are many potential dangers that face bicyclists including unsafe drivers, poorly designed and maintained roadways and even defective bicycles.  Most people never seriously consider the possibility of being involved in a Mississippi bike accident caused by design or manufacturing defects associated with a bike.

Because bicycles provide virtually no structural protection to riders, the impact of a product defect in a bicycle can be extremely serious.  If the frame of the bike is compromised or an operating part of the bicycle fails due to substandard design or workmanship, a bicyclist is virtually unprotected if the bike goes down or the rider loses control and veers into traffic.

Historically, a common defect with bicycles involved instructions and warnings regarding proper use and assembly that were woefully inadequate.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission has imposed safety standards over the years that have helped reduce the number of bicycle accidents and serious injuries resulting from bicycle malfunctions.  Many bicycle models have been subject to recall for defects in their design, manufacture and instructions.

While a product recall can help prevent the potential danger of riding a defective bicycle, these vehicles are sometimes a serious bicycle accident waiting to happen.  Further, sometimes recalls come too late or may even be intentionally delayed to avoid the cost of recall.  If a bicyclist is involved in a bike accident and suffers injury or even wrongful death, the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer of the bicycle may be liable for any injuries or loss.  Even if a bicycle accident involved collision with a motor vehicle, the bicycle manufacturer may share in the fault for the bicycle accident if a product defect contributed to the collision with the motor vehicle.

In a typical year, there are dozens of bicycles and accessories subject to recall for product defects.  While a bicycle may seem like a relatively simple and straightforward vehicle with few parts that can be defective, there are many bicycle parts that have been defective and subject to recall including:

  • Chains that malfunction
  • Defective brakes
  • Frames with compromised joints
  • Tires that blowout due to substandard manufacturing
  • Cranks that are compromised

If you are involved in a bicycle accident that may have been partially caused by a product defect, you should take the following steps:

  • Get medical assistance and obtain treatment
  • Summon police to the accident scene
  • Obtain insurance and contact information for any witnesses including the driver if you were involved in a collision with another vehicle
  • Preserve your bike in the same condition without repair

A bicycle accident can result in life-altering injuries that mean permanent disability from work and a lifetime of supportive care.  Tragically, almost a thousand bicyclists per year lose their lives in bicycle riding accidents.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a Mississippi bicycle accident and suffered injury or the loss of a loved one, the experienced Mississippi bicycle accident lawyers at Barrett Law, PLLC has been representing those injured by the negligence of others for 75 years.  Our dedicated and caring legal team offers a free initial consultation so that we can evaluate your case.  We invite you to call us today at (662) 834-4443 to see how we can help you seek the compensation that you deserve.

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Bicycle Accident Involving Hundred Riders Shows Danger for Mississippi Cyclists

Sometimes there is simply no way to be safe when riding a bicycle.  Bicyclists often are exposed to bike accident risks in Mississippi because of a lack of visibility so that they are difficult to observe.  A bike rider can compensate for this lack of visibility by wearing bright colored clothes, riding in groups and using rear and front lights at all times.  Unfortunately, there is little a bicyclist can do to avoid a serious Mississippi bicycle accident when a driver crashes into a group of over a hundred bicyclists traveling in a large group.  The Barrett Law Office was founded in 1933 and has learned through many years of experience that bicyclists are inherently vulnerable to the risk posed by unsafe drivers.

A recent bicycle accident in California speaks volumes about the degree of exposure of bicyclists to bike accident risks caused by negligent drivers.  A group of a hundred riders were stopped at an intersection when a driver traveling at sixty miles per hour jumped the curb and ploughed into the group of riders.  Seven bicycle riders were injured in the bike riding accident and four suffered serious injury.  The police are investigating the incident to determine if the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.

This bicycle accident is a tragic example of the degree of exposure faced by bicyclists.  The large group means that they were as visible as bicyclists can be to a motorist.  The bicyclists were also stopped so they should have been easy to see and could not have unexpectedly maneuvered so that the driver could not see them.  The bicyclists also had no opportunity to take evasive precautions to avoid the accident because they were stopped at an intersection when the car ran the cyclists down.

This tragedy shows not only the inability of bicyclists to avoid serious bike accidents in Mississippi when drivers are negligent but also the potential danger of suffering severe injuries.  When even a small passenger vehicle weighing 3,000 pounds ploughs into a bicyclist, the person riding the bike has absolutely no protection from injury.  When the vehicle is traveling sixty miles per hour like the one in the California collision, the result is typically catastrophic injury and even wrongful death.

While it is unclear at this point why the driver jumped the curb driving 60 miles and hour and collided with the group of bicyclists, driver impairment or distraction are common reasons for such accidents.  Despite efforts to curb the deadly practice of drunk driving, Mississippi drunk driving (DUI) arrests increased by more then thirty percent in 2010 compared to just a few years ago.  Over 12,000 people per year are arrested for DUI in Mississippi.  Because of the vulnerability of Mississippi bicyclists, drivers under the influence of alcohol pose a deadly risk to cyclists.

A driver who ploughs into a group of bike riders may also be distracted and fail to focus on the roadway.  Distracted driving accidents are on the rise and rival drunk driving accidents as the leading threat to cyclists in Mississippi.  While many states have moved to prohibit texting while driving and restrict cell phone conversations by drivers, Mississippi has been slow to take such steps.  Although texting while driving is prohibited for new inexperienced drivers, it is permitted for experienced drivers.  Studies have shown that the reaction times of drivers who are texting while driving are comparable to those who are legally intoxicated while driving.

The bottom line is that drivers of motor vehicles have a responsibility to exercise reasonable care for others with whom they share the roadway including Mississippi cyclists.  At Barrett Law Office PLLC, we represent bicycle accident victims throughout Mississippi.  If you or a loved one has been the victim of a Mississippi bicycle accident, we offer a free initial case evaluation so contact us today at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

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The Heightened Risk to Bicyclists Caused by Dangerous Road Hazards in Mississippi

Dangerous road conditions account for many of the road accidents in our country.  When you are on a bicycle, road hazards can cause pose an increased risk of serious accidents. Road bikes have narrow wheels and lack the stability of a vehicle with four wheels so when a rider hits a pothole, grate in the road, or railroad track, he or she can be in serious trouble.  What a lot of bike riders might not know is that if they are seriously injured due to a road hazard, it is possible to sue the entity that is responsible for the design, construction or the maintenance of the roadway where the hazard is encountered.

A bicyclist has to ride so defensively when on public streets and other roadways that it can be difficult to keep one’s eyes down to catch discrepancies in the road surface.  A rider must watch the traffic around one’s bicycle as well as the road ahead to keep safe while riding.

Road Hazards

There are different types of road hazards a cyclist might encounter which would be insignificant if the rider where in a car, truck or SUV:

  • Potholes and cracks in the pavement
  • Sewer grates and manhole covers
  • Parked cars
  • Train tracks
  • Construction zones, cones, and barriers
  • Loose gravel and debris
  • Flooding water that makes a bikeway slippery

In the case of potholes or damaged pavement, the liability issue will depend on a number of factors including:

  • The length of time the hazard was present
  • Attempts to repair it
  • Complaints made or prior accidents involving the hazard
  • Types of warnings used to warn cyclists of the hazard
  • Reports may regarding the hazard to the public entity responsible for the roadway

Sewer grates have slowly been changed to accommodate bike tires and prevent them from slipping through the openings in the grate, but not all cities have made this effort.  It is a simple fix, and you as a cyclist have the right to ride on safe roads. If the city hasn’t addressed this problem which results in you being injured in a bicycle accident, you may have a right to seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.  Similarly, railroad tracks that are should have warnings posted around them, or if they are abandoned, they should be covered over by the local governing authority. When crossed by cyclists, these tracks can be deadly.  If a government or a company could have taken reasonable steps to prevent any of these types of problems, then you might have a basis for a Mississippi lawsuit to recover for your bicycle-related injuries.

If you are involved in an accident caused by one of these types of hazards, it is important that you contact the police to file a police report.  When you are physically able you should take pictures of the hazard or have someone you trust do so.  The chance that you will be able to seek full compensation for your injuries is also increased if you promptly seek medical evaluation and treatment.

Liability

These types of cases can be difficult.  It is almost essential that you enlist the aid of an experienced bike injury attorney due to the complex nature of these cases and the challenge involved proving liability.  Another challenge that may arise when deciding to seek compensation from a public entity that may be liable for your injuries is the preservation of the accident scene. Many times when the city or local government is notified about the accident, they attempt to go out and fix the hazard before investigators can examine it.  This is why it is important that you try and get photos.  Public entities also benefit from limited immunity from lawsuits so it is important to consult and experienced Mississippi bicycle accident lawyer who will be familiar with the special notice of claim and timing requirements involved in Mississippi lawsuits against government entities.

It also is always important to speak to an experienced Mississippi bicycle accident lawyer before you speak with an insurance company adjuster.  While these cases often are settled without going to trial, cases where the victim does not attempt to negotiate with the insurance company without an attorney provide the best chance of a successful settlement or trial verdict.

If you have been seriously injured or a loved one has suffered wrongful death in a Mississippi bicycle accident caused by a road hazard, Barrett Law, PLLC utilizes careful investigation, innovative litigation strategy and zealous advocacy to obtain the compensation that our clients deserve.  Our experienced team of attorneys and staff carefully investigate our clients’ bicycle accidents so that we can help our clients obtain the compensation they need to get their lives back on track after a serious Mississippi bike accident.

Call to speak to a Mississippi bicycle accident lawyer to discuss you legal right for fair compensation.  Barrett Law, PLLC represents bicycle accident victims throughout Mississippi and has roots that reach back 75 years.  We have helped thousands of people just like you so call us today at (662) 834-2376

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