All it takes is a minor collision for a bike rider to be gravely injured. The unfortunate truth is that cyclists are in one of the highest risk categories for catastrophic complications if they are involved in a collision, and there is a high mortality rate across California too. If you have been involved in an accident on your bike and are wondering what to do and who to turn to, we are here to help. This guide explains everything you need to know, and we will be waiting for your call.
Make Yourself Physically Safe Where Possible
Immediately after the incident takes place, it is important to get to safety as soon as you can! If you are lying on the road and you can’t move, then you shouldn’t try to because your body could be going through something major like a spinal break or traumatic brain injury. However, when it is possible to get up and get out of the way, this is the first move to make. This will ensure that you are not at risk of being harmed further by passing vehicles that fail to stop and so on.
Contact Emergency Services
When you are in a place of safety, it is time to phone the emergency services. They are the best people to help you in this moment. You should request both an ambulance and police service. You will need a medical checkup, whether you want to or not, as it is the only way to ensure that you are not in any physical danger or going through the symptoms of shock in the aftermath. The law enforcement officers need to attend the scene so that they can talk to witnesses, take your statement, and create an incident report which can be called upon further down the line in compensation claims.
Accept Medical Input
As noted above, medical input is unavoidable. It should always be at the top of your list to go to the hospital and let a doctor check you over. This will rule out any medical complications that could put your life at risk, like a head injury or internal bleeding. Even if you were able to stand up and walk away from the scene, your body might be in shock and hiding pain that you are not aware of until things calm down and the adrenaline subsides. This is the best place for you after an incident like this, and our team of accident injury lawyers will always advise that you do this as soon as possible. It will also be useful when filing for compensation because medical evidence will support your claim.
Gather Evidence of the Crash
Evidence can be photographs, names, witness accounts, or anything like video footage of the scene of the crash. You should take this bit very seriously, but our personal injury accident attorney team will assist you with this part of the journey.
Take Notes About the Accident
Anything that you can remember should be written down to support your evidence as well. This means noting details of relevance, such as what the weather was like, how many drivers were involved, and how you felt in the days after the crash.
Make Sure You Get Information About the Other Party
If you do get a chance, exchanging information with the other parties that were involved in the accident is beneficial. While this information can be found out further into the future, it becomes more difficult as time moves on unless someone comes forward and voluntarily offers it. This is also another reason why an incident report is necessary because this should detail the names and contact information of any person involved.
Get In Touch
All of this is worth getting in touch with us as soon as possible because, with accident injury lawyers on your team, life is so much easier.
How We Can Help
You may be wondering how we can actually help you, well, let us tell you all about it. Here are the top ways that your claim and life after an accident will be made far easier if you opt for using our personal injury law firm.
Securing Evidence
We will be able to secure different types of evidence or ensure that the things that you bring to the table are fully valid and verified. This is important because evidence is the thing that wins a case as opposed to negating it. Don’t forget, the other party will have their own claim to navigate, and they will also have evidence which may affect you if you don’t submit everything that you have to support your version of the truth.
Navigating the Claims Process
Legal claims are long things with complicated nuances to navigate. There will be a bunch of legal jargon to move through and figure out and this is all so much easier if you have an expert leading the way. Compensation claims are often straightforward where there is a clear victim and an obvious offending party, but this doesn’t always translate into reality and there are times when everything is more up in the air.
Giving Advice
Have you ever filed a compensation claim before? It is likely that this is your first. If so, then you will need all the advice we have to offer because there is so much information to take on board and work through, that things can get complicated quickly. The last thing you need is to become overwhelmed by the process and give up because then justice can never be brought.
Figuring Out Who Is Liable
Liability is a big thing to navigate when it comes to personal injury claims, but it can be done with professional input. It is the only way to determine the suitable compensation amount.
Being hit by a vehicle while out on your bike is a scary incident for anyone. If this has happened to you, don’t delay making an appointment with our team of expert attorneys. We will talk to you about what the options are and how to proceed with making a claim against the offending party.
Contact our legal team at What’s My Case Worth today.
