Cyclists ride without very little protection, especially when traveling around heavy, fast-moving vehicles. A strike from a car can leave riders with bone fractures in their arms, legs, chests, and even in their hip joints. At-fault drivers are liable for the expensive medical care that follows.
To get every benefit necessary to make a full recovery, injured bicyclists often have to rely on the help of a skilled bicycle accident attorney. Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free case consultation to all injured riders. It’s a no-risk way to identify the best approach to securing full compensation from a car insurance company.
How Do I Know If I Need to Call a Lawyer After a Bicycle Accident?
Riders who suffer serious injuries in bicycle accidents caused by negligent drivers should go over their case with a skilled Bakersfield bicycle accident attorney. A broken bone should certainly be thought of as a serious injury. It will likely carry with it some major hospital bills.
These high costs often encourage insurance adjusters for at-fault drivers to throw up roadblocks in front of the victim. These tactics are meant to block bicyclists from taking home the financial support they need.
Your lawyer fully investigates your accident and collects all evidence so you can fight back if insurers try to blame you for the collision. Medical documentation is gathered in case insurers attempt to raise doubts about how badly you are hurt. Your lawyer also strives to add value to your case. The experience of a skilled attorney often means you’ll be getting much more for your bicycle accident injury than if you decide to file your injury claim yourself.
Bone Fracture Risks in Bakersfield Bicycle Accidents
It’s a nightmare scenario for local cyclists traveling on area streets around reckless and distracted drivers. A powerful strike from an SUV or truck sends them toppling off their bikes, only to suffer through another impact with the ground. And then be at risk of being runover by the driver who hit them or another approaching vehicle.
A collision can happen, even in the relative protection of a bike lane along a city road like Truxtun Avenue. Bad accidents are even more common on stretches of road lacking bike lanes and pushing riders out in the traffic lanes, among drivers who may not be paying attention.
The bones that are broken often depend on where on the body the rider strikes the road surface. A skull fracture might occur if the head is the first body part to hit. The knee or the shoulder might also strike a car hood first.
These injuries can be debilitating, especially for someone with an active lifestyle. Bones that heal can still cause stiffness, soreness, and pain for years afterward. Victims should never accept settlement offers from car insurance companies that don’t include support for the future when additional surgeries or physical therapy could be necessary.
A skilled cycling accident lawyer works with doctors and other medical experts to pinpoint the costs now and potential expenses victims may face years ahead.
Common Bone Fractures In Bicycle Collisions
These are just some of the fractures emergency room doctors at Mercy Hospital may treat after an accident:
- Broken Arms, Hands, and Wrist Bones – A break in the radius or the ulna, the two bones in the lower arm. A crack in the humerus (upper arm bone) or in the elbow where the upper arm and lower arm bones meet. Riders thrown from their bikes can throw their hands and arms out to catch themselves. The force of impact is often too great, and victims break one of the wrist’s eight bones or even fingers. UCLA Health reports that wrist injuries can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to heal. Riders would have to wear a cast during recovery.
- Leg Fractures – Femur fractures in the upper leg. Patella fractures after landing on the kneecap. Broken tibia (shinbone, the larger bone in the lower leg) or fibula bones (smaller lower leg bone). The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that normal tibial shaft fractures take 4 to 6 months to fully heal.
- Foot or Ankle Bone – A fracture in one of the 26 bones in the foot. One of the metatarsals (the bone bridging from the ankle to the toes) could break. Strong legs aren’t much good if victims can’t put their weight on a broken foot. An especially debilitating injury for people who love to bike.
- Chest Bones – The collarbone along the top of the chest is often broken in a fall from a bicycle. Ribs and the breastbone can also suffer fractures. These injuries can cause extreme pain and limit mobility in the upper body. They can make it impossible for riders to support themselves on top of a bicycle until full recovery is achieved.
- Hip Joint Bones – The femur bone in the upper leg is also part of the hip joint. The upper portion can crack. Bicyclists rely on their hips to power their pedaling and to stay balanced on a bicycle. A hip fracture can even make it impossible to sit on a bike seat.
Finding Support for Bicycle Accident Victims with Broken Bones
Your attorney will help you determine what you’ll need in the short term and long term. If a permanent physical disability is involved, that can add up to a lifetime of support.
The emotional toll of not being able to hop on a bike when you want to should also be a major factor. Sitting around with an injury can cause depression and anxiety, especially when a recovery is especially painful and difficult.
The PTSD symptoms that take you back to relive the moment of a terrifying impact over and over again must be considered. Getting help for these and other mental obstacles must be compensated.
These are just some of the economic and non-economic damages that your lawyer will make sure are addressed in a bicycle accident settlement check:
- The costs of medical care (Current and Future)
- Complete coverage of physical therapy and rehabilitation costs for as long as necessary
- The costs of any medical equipment, such as knee scooters, wheelchairs, braces, and crutches
- The cost of long-term care when riders suffer a permanent physical disability
- Travel costs when visiting out-of-area doctors and specialists, especially when you can’t get around on your own
- Support for the income and benefits victims lose while unable to work
- Support for pain and suffering, including emotional trauma
- Support for the loss of enjoyment of life, including the time riders must be off the road
- Money for bicycle repairs or replacement
Many of these benefits can be ignored by insurance adjusters. If you don’t mention them, insurers won’t either.
It’s important to have legal representation to make sure all of these hardships are listed in your claim. Your attorney would make sure the insurance company knew exactly what you had been through and what the insurer was responsible for.
Contact a Bicycle Accident Attorney Who Builds Your Case with Powerful Evidence and Fights to Earn You More
If you come away from a bicycle accident with a broken bone, and a careless driver caused your accident, we offer a free legal consultation with a real attorney. Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield to schedule a confidential, no-obligation review of your case.
Your full recovery becomes our number one mission. We don’t stop fighting until you are back on your bike and enjoying rides around the city again.
We also realize that right after a bike accident and lost time at work, you may not have the money to hire a lawyer. That’s okay. If you hire us, our lawyers don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then, our fee comes out of the settlement check you earn from an insurer.