St. Louis Bicycle Accident Attorney

Riding a bicycle can be a great form of exercise or transportation, however, it does not come without certain risks. As a bicyclist, you are much more vulnerable than a motorist riding in a car. If you are hit by a negligent driver on your bicycle, it can cause severe injuries, and can even lead to death. If you or a loved one has been injured while riding a bicycle in St. Louis, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Miller & Hine. We know that a bicycle accident involving another vehicle can cause you to suffer life-changing injuries, and we are here to help.

Determining liability can be challenging, but you shouldn’t be left with the burden of paying for injuries caused by someone else’s carelessness. Contact a skilled personal injury lawyer from Miller & Hine today to discuss your options and see how we can help you receive the best possible compensation for your injuries. Call us today at (314) 413-2053 or contact us for a free consultation.

Determining Liability In St. Louis Bike Accidents

It often takes a thorough investigation to determine the liable party or parties in a bicycle accident. Under Missouri 537.765, all parties who contribute to an injury are responsible for their portion of the damages. Even a bike accident victim who is partly responsible for their injuries may recover compensation, but the insurance company subtracts the injury victim’s percentage of fault from the amount they pay out on the claim.

A bicycle accident victim’s attorney conducts an independent investigation to protect an injury victim from insurers who have an incentive to assign the injury victim an undue or unreasonable percentage of fault. The attorney compiles evidence of the at-fault driver’s liability. The evidence must demonstrate the following:

• The at-fault party owed a duty of reasonable care to the bicyclist
• They breached their duty of care through negligence
• The breach of duty directly caused injury to the bicyclist
• The injury victim suffered damages from the injury

In some cases, a third party could also be liable, for instance, a city agency responsible for inadequate lighting or a confusing intersection design. An experienced St. Louis bicycle accident attorney pursues compensation from all liable parties.

Why Hire Miller & Hine’s St. Louis Bicycle Accident Attorneys

After your bicycle accident, you will have to deal with insurance companies in order to receive compensation. This can be difficult because it is the insurance adjuster’s job to minimize costs for the company, so they may make obtaining compensation difficult. They might try to blame you for the crash, claim that the liability of the accident is unclear, or try to pressure you into accepting an offer much lower than you deserve.

Working with one of our talented St. Louis personal injury lawyers at Miller & Hine is your best chance at obtaining fair compensation. We will use our experience to advocate for you while you focus on recovering physically and emotionally. We will:

• Handle your claim. Our attorneys will file all the necessary paperwork, meet all deadlines, and provide advice when you are faced with difficult decisions.
• Gather evidence. We will collect all necessary police reports, medical records, video footage and photographs, witness statements, and other information to strengthen your claim.
• Negotiate for the best possible terms. We will engage in negotiations with the insurance company and other parties on your behalf and fight for the best possible settlement deal for you.
• Escalate your case to trial if necessary. Our team of highly skilled and experienced attorneys are not afraid to take your claim to trial if the insurance company refuses to offer an appropriate settlement. We want our clients to get the best results possible.

How to Deal With Insurance After a Bicycle Accident

Insurance companies are not on your side after an accident, even if they present themselves as compassionate when they call. They may reach out quickly after the bike accident with a settlement offer. Be wary of early settlement offers from insurers. These are almost always lowball offers intentionally made before the injury victim knows the full extent of their damages. Accepting this offer requires signing away your right to a lawsuit.

Instead of dealing with an insurance adjuster whose goals conflict with yours, hire an attorney from Miller & Hine and then direct all communication with the insurance company to your lawyer. Your attorney predicts and protects you from the following common insurance company tactics after a bicycle accident:

• An insurance adjuster may call you on a recorded line. Accepting the call gives the insurance company permission to take your words out of context and use them against you.
• The insurance company may claim that your doctor’s recommended treatment for your injury isn’t necessary.
• Insurance adjusters sometimes follow injury victims on social media and use photos and comments out of context against them
• The insurance adjuster may ask you to sign a medical authorization ostensibly to view your injury report, but then use a blanket authorization form that allows them to access your full medical records. Insurers sometimes comb through an injury victim’s records to find a previous injury or pre-existing condition to blame for their pain and other symptoms.

It’s always best not to leave your case in the hands of an insurance company. Their goal is to protect their profits at your expense.

Statute of Limitations for Missouri Bike Accident Cases

The timing of a bicycle accident case is an important aspect of the financial recovery process. All claims must be brought within the state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims. If a case requires court, the court will not hear the case if the injury victim files the lawsuit petition past the statute of limitations. In Missouri, the statute of limitations for bicycle accident claims is five years from the date of the accident. This is a generous time frame that’s years longer than the majority of states, with two-year time limits.

If an injury victim is a minor at the time of injury, they have up to five years from their 18th birthday to file a claim.

What Types of Compensation is Available for Bicycle Accident Victims?

After an accident you may be severely injured and unable to work temporarily or permanently as well as have several medical bills from injury treatment. This is where the attorneys at Miller & Hine can help you to seek compensation to cover the losses you face after an accident.

As a bicycle accident victim, you may be eligible for two types of damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages refer to losses with a clear financial value. These losses include:

• Medical expenses, including future medical bills and treatments due to the accident
• Property damage
• Lost wages
• Reduced or lost earning capacity if you are permanently disabled or impaired

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages refer to losses with an unclear financial value. These losses are intended to compensate you for psychological, emotional, or physical damages that cannot be easily measured numerically. These losses include:

• Emotional distress
• Disfigurement
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish

In some rare cases, punitive damages may be awarded. Punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault party for acts of blatant negligence, such as drunk driving. Punitive damages are only awarded in extreme cases where it can be proved that the defendant acted intentionally or with complete disregard for your safety.

What to do After a Bicycle Accident

If you are in a collision with a motor vehicle while riding your bike it is important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. The faster you receive treatment, the lower your chances of experiencing complications or lasting issues. Even if you appear fine, it is important to get checked out, as some injuries may be internal or take time to develop and show symptoms. Catching any and all injuries is vital to your health and safety.  Seeing a doctor will also create an official record of your injuries for evidence to support you in a claim for negligent damages.

If you are able to, after the accident you may also want to get the contact information of any witnesses and take note of any nearby businesses that may have gotten security footage of the accident. This will be helpful later on when you are trying to prove your claim. The more time that goes by the harder it becomes to identify or find witnesses, and security camera footage is deleted frequently.

What are the Most Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents in St. Louis?

According to a 2020 Crash Report by TrailNet, 63% of bicycle accidents in St. Louis occur at intersections, and 77% of bicycle accidents occur during daylight hours. In 2020 alone there were 62 reported bicycle-involved crashes, resulting in 51 injuries, and fortunately no deaths. In general, bicycling accidents are completely avoidable and usually caused by negligence.

Some of the most common negligent acts that contribute to bicycle accidents include:

• Distracted driving
• Drunk driving
• Speeding
• Failure to yield to the right-of-way of bicyclists
• Improper or illegal turns
• Dooring
• Failure to leave enough room when passing a bicycle
• Following too closely
• Riding in a vehicle’s blind spot
• Failure to properly check for bicycles before changing lanes or turning

Other factors such as weather, road conditions, and vehicle defects can also contribute to bicycle accidents.

Common Injuries from Bicycle Accidents in St. Louis

Wearing a helmet is one of the best ways to protect yourself as a bicyclist. Although wearing a helmet is not required for adults in St. Louis or the surrounding counties, it is still advised.

However, even when wearing a helmet, you may still suffer from catastrophic injuries when in an accident with a motor vehicle. Injuries may include:

• TBI (traumatic brain injury)
• Spinal cord injury
• Back and neck injury
• Internal organ bleeding or damage
• Broken bones
• Nerve damage
• Road rash
• Burns
• Amputation
• Trauma to the face (eye injuries, broken nose, dental injuries)

Along with wearing a helmet, you may also want to wear bright or high-visibility clothing and place lights on your person or bike to increase your visibility and reduce the chances of being in an accident.

Contact a St. Louis Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one have been hurt in a bicycle accident in St. Louis you may be eligible for compensation to cover the expenses of your injury and suffering. Contact a St. Louis Miller & Hine lawyer today to set up a free consultation. Call us at (314) 413-2053 or contact us online.