Riding a bicycle can be an environmentally friendly—not to mention physically healthy—alternative to driving in many situations, but it can also be much more dangerous than riding inside a standard passenger car. If even one driver acts recklessly or carelessly while sharing the road with you, you may wind up suffering life-altering injuries by no fault of your own. You may also have a deceptively challenging path ahead of you if you want to seek civil recovery for those injuries.
Guidance from a knowledgeable personal injury attorney could be vital to achieving success with a bike wreck claim. If you have been hurt in this way and want to effectively enforce your rights, reach out to a Crown Point bicycle accident lawyer from The Law Offices of David. W Holub today.
Who Could Be Liable for a Bike-Related Injury?
When bicyclists get injured in collisions with motor vehicles, the person most directly to blame for the incident is whoever was driving the vehicle involved. However, just because a driver committed a traffic violation or acted aggressively around a bicyclist does not mean they are the only person who could hold civil liability for an incident like this.
For instance, some bicycle crashes happen partially or even primarily because of a lack of functional infrastructure for bicyclists, which could impose civil liability on local government bodies that failed to keep bike lanes in reasonably safe condition. Likewise, if a wreck happens in part because of a mechanical problem with the bicycle involved, a skilled Crown Point bike injury attorney could help pursue compensation from a mechanic who failed to service the bike properly or the manufacturer who made and sold a defective machine.
Getting Around Legal and Procedural Obstacles
Of course, it is worth noting as well that bicyclists can be found partly at fault for causing their own accident—for example, if they were struck by a speeding driver while riding on the wrong side of the road. In this kind of scenario, a court could assign that bicyclist a percentage of “comparative fault” for their crash-related losses. In accordance with Indiana Code § 34-51-2-6, the value of compensation available to them will be reduced or even denied altogether based on that percentage.
Furthermore, under I.C. § 34-11-2-4, someone who has been injured through the negligence of others has a maximum of two years to file suit after initially getting hurt, regardless of how long the effects of that injury will continue to negatively impact their life. A knowledgeable lawyer could help navigate any possible roadblocks to recovery during a bicycle accident lawsuit in Crown Point.
Contact a Crown Point Bicycle Accident Attorney for Help Today
Getting into a serious accident while on a bicycle can disrupt every part of your professional and personal life for months or even years afterward. On top of that, the civil court system in Indiana is not always friendly to injured people, especially those who are not intimately familiar with civil law and who try to file suit without support from legal counsel.
With an experienced Crown Point bicycle accident lawyer on your side, you will be able to maximize your chances of achieving a positive case result and obtaining the restitution you need. Call today to schedule a consultation to discuss your options.