Most bike rides are pleasant and leave you feeling refreshed and entertained. However, some Colorado Springs bike rides end with a call to emergency services. When cyclists get into accidents with cars and other vehicles, bicycle riders often suffer catastrophic injuries because they’re helpless and exposed.
Cyclists often share the road with motor vehicles, commercial trucks, buses, and others. Many drivers don’t see bike riders and don’t account for their presence on the roads. Although many cyclists wear protective gear, the limited protection they provide is ineffective in a car accident.
Many people ride bikes as part of their commute. More cyclists on the road often mean more accidents and injuries at the hands of negligent, reckless, and even aggressive drivers. Cyclists may also be injured because of poor road design and other maintenance failures.
If you’ve been involved in a bike crash, cycling injury lawyers recommend a free consultation with a Colorado Springs personal injury lawyer, like those at Ganderton Law. We can help determine liability for your injuries and advocate for fair compensation.
Common Types of Cycling Accidents in Colorado Springs
A third of all bicycle accidents happen because of bicycle crashes with cars and other motor vehicles. Colorado Springs law stipulates that drivers should keep at least three feet between themselves and other cyclists. When the laws are broken, cyclists could be entitled to financial recompense.
Ganderton Law is experienced in assisting cycling injury victims when the following incidents lead to severe injuries:
- The driver’s failure to yield the right of way to the cyclist when making a left or right turn
- “Dooring,” in a bicycle accident happens because a driver or passenger opens their door without looking, resulting in the bicyclist crashing into the door
- Drifting into a bike lane
- Lack of a designated bike lane which forces a cyclist to ride in traffic
- Failure to stop at a stop sign or red light
- Sideswipes
- Road rage incidents
- Distracted driving or cycling
- Impaired or drunk driving or cycling
- Unsafe U-turns
Speeding, distracted driving, and impaired driving are some of the leading causes of cycling accidents and the CDC reports that 37% of fatal bike accidents involve alcohol consumption. A Colorado personal injury lawyer can support those harmed by a motor vehicle driver in a cycling accident.
Common Cycling Accident Injuries
When a car and bike collide, the biker typically suffers most in the impact. Coming into violent contact with a car, the ground, or other hard objects often causes severe injuries and trauma. Many injured bikers experience the following injuries:
- Broken bones
- Eye injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Loss of a limb
- Paralysis
- Severe burns
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injuries
It is extremely important to secure legal representation after a bicycle accident. The benefits of hiring experienced legal professionals like those at Ganderton Law, show the value of Colorado Springs Bicycle Accident Attorneys.
What To Do After a Bicycle Accident
In the aftermath of a cycling accident with a motor vehicle, you could be hurt and in shock. Colorado Springs injury professionals always recommend prioritizing getting medical care for yourself and anyone else harmed in the crash. Next, you’ll want to get the names, contact information, and insurance information of each person involved. If someone saw the crash, get their contact information also because they could serve as a witness in your accident injury claim.
Take pictures and videos of the accident scene if possible and keep your bike, no matter how damaged it is. The more evidence you preserve, the more your bicycle accident injury lawyer will be able to help your situation. Obtaining a copy of the accident report can help your law firm as well. Meeting with a lawyer as soon as possible after your accident can help ensure your claim is in compliance with Colorado law.
The Statute of Limitations
All Colorado personal injury claims, including bicycle accidents, are allowed two years from the accident date to file an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. Failing to comply with Colorado’s statute of limitations means your personal injury claim could be denied once the two years have expired. If you’re unsure about the laws that could affect your claim, speak with Ganderton Law in a free consultation.
Colorado Laws and Bicycle Accident Cases
All travelers have the right to safe conditions on any public road or bike lane and that includes cyclists. According to Colorado law, all motorists must treat cyclists as they would treat car and truck drivers. The basis for most bicycle accident claims is proving that a driver’s failure to uphold their duty of care led to an accident. When drivers fail to yield the right of way, tailgate cyclists, and exceed the legal speed limit, it increases the risk of an accident.
Colorado state law obligates cyclists to practice safe road behavior by riding with the traffic, signaling all turns, and taking appropriate actions to prevent accidents. Colorado uses the modified comparative negligence model. That means if a cyclist is 50% or more to blame for their accident, the court may deny any request for full and fair compensation.
However, if the injured bicyclist is less than 50% at fault, they can be compensated according to their percentage of fault. Colorado Springs bicycle accident professionals can evaluate your claim and identify if you’re at partial fault for your injuries and how this could impact your damage award.
How Ganderton Law LLC Colorado Bike Accident Attorneys Can Help You
The at-fault party’s insurance company will do everything it can to reduce the total settlement paid out to you because that is how they make money. They may try to get you to admit fault in a recorded statement, or argue that you had a duty to take certain precautions and failed to do so. Some insurance companies will try to avoid culpability by insinuating that there were defective bicycle parts that caused the crash.
When the at-fault driver tries to prove that liability falls on you and seeks to deny your claim or reduce your compensation, a skilled bicycle accident attorney can step in. Ganderton Law has experience recovering damages for our bicycle accident clients.
Damage Compensation for Bicycle Accident Victims
If you have been hit by a car while riding a bicycle and someone else is responsible for your serious injuries, you may have the grounds for a bicycle accident claim in Colorado Springs.
Your legal team can evaluate the full extent of your injuries and other damages and demand proper compensation for your losses.
Types of Damages in a Colorado Spring Bicycle Accident
Compensatory damages, also known as economic damages, refers to the measurable financial losses that you’ve experienced because of your accident. They include your medical bills and rehabilitation costs, earnings lost due to time missed from work, property damages, and future medical expenses.
Many injury losses go beyond physical bicycle accident injuries and that’s why non-economic damages are awarded after a bike accident for the following:
- Depression
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
If you’ve been injured in a bike accident with a car, you deserve to be compensated, and a bike accident lawyer in Colorado Springs can review your claim and determine which recoverable damages you should pursue.
Filing a Bicycle Accident Lawsuit in Colorado Springs
The impact of your bicycle accident injuries and losses after a bike accident can continue for months, years, or the rest of your life. Permanent disability, pain, immobility, hospitalizations, surgeries, lengthy rehabilitation, and the loss of income can have drastic effects on you and your family.
When you contact Ganderton Law for a free initial consultation with a bicycle accident injury lawyer, our lawyers take the time to understand your struggles, answer your questions, and provide relief. Let us lay out a plan to recover the compensation you deserve under the law.
An experienced accident attorney will use the following defense strategies to investigate the accident:
- Gathering evidence from the crash, like photos and police statements
- Reconstructing the crash to determine which party is liable
- Getting eyewitness and expert testimony and statements about the events of the crash
- Filing your claim
- Negotiating with the insurance company
- Going to trial for your bike accident if necessary
Call Ganderton Law LLC to discuss your bicycle accident claim and serious injuries. We can help you begin the process of getting the compensation you need and deserve. Sit down with the lead attorney today and arrange a free consultation with an experienced bicycle accident injury lawyer.
When you’ve been hurt as a result of reckless or intentionally negligent drivers, a Colorado Springs Bike Accident lawyer can determine if you are eligible for a settlement. Our attorneys will help you hold the entity that caused your bike accident injuries liable.
