Bicycle Accident Lawyer Palm Desert CA 92260

Palm Desert is a great city for bicyclists. It has a warm climate and numerous bike routes. This makes bicycling a very attractive option for residents of Palm Desert.

However, bicycle accidents are a reality of life and they do occur. Cyclists lack the protection of an outer frame which is afforded to occupants of most motor vehicles. Injuries caused by bicycle accidents can be severe and life-altering, or even fatal. A Palm Desert bike accident attorney can assist you in understanding your legal options and can help you pursue a claim for financial compensation.

Call us now if you or a loved one was injured or killed in a bicycle accident in Palm Desert. We don’t charge a fee unless we obtain financial compensation which can help pay for your medical bills, lost wages and more.

Compensation Available After A Palm Desert Bicycle Accident

If you are a bicycle accident victim who has suffered injuries, a bicycle accident attorney at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can handle your personal injury case for you and help you recover compensation for:

Medical Expenses

If you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident in Palm Desert, the Coachella Valley or Riverside County, you are likely already facing multiple medical bills. You might face even more bills in the future if you need future treatment. A personal injury lawyer at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can help you recover compensation for past and future medical bills related to your bike accident.

Lost Wages

You may have had to miss time from work due to your bicycle accident, whether it be because you were hurt too seriously to work or because you had to miss work to get your injuries treated. When we handle your bicycle accident case, we can help you recover compensation for any wages you were unable to earn due to your crash.

Loss Of Earning Capacity

We sometimes see seriously injured clients who are left unable to ever work again or unable to ever work again in the same field because they were in an accident caused by a negligent driver. We can help you seek compensation for any loss or reduction of your earning capacity caused by your bicycle accident.

Property Damage

Many bicycle accidents end up with damaged or destroyed bicycles. We can help you recover fair compensation for the cost to repair or replace your bicycle, as well as any other expensive cycling gear which was damaged or destroyed in the crash.

Pain And Suffering

Bicycle accident victims often end up enduring tremendous physical pain and mental suffering. Our bicycle accident attorneys can put an accurate value on your pain and suffering and help you recover financial compensation for it.

Wrongful Death

Unfortunately, bicycle accident fatalities sometimes occur. Three fatalities have occurred during bicycle accidents in Palm Desert from 2012 through 2021. If you lost a loved one to a bicycle accident, we can help you seek compensation for your grieving and suffering. We can also help you seek compensation for your loved one’s:

• Medical bills
• Pain and suffering
• Funeral costs
• Burial bills

In addition, we can help you seek compensation for the loss of your loved one’s:

• Income
• Household services
• Companionship
• Love

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages aren’t awarded in every bicycle accident case. However, if your bicycle accident was caused by the reckless or intentional conduct of another, such as drunk driving, we can maximize your financial recovery by seeking punitive damages on your behalf.

What Must You Prove In A Bicycle Accident Claim?

All personal injury claims, including bicycle accident claims, necessitate that the victim prove that the party at fault was negligent when the accident happened. A negligence claim must prove the following:

• The at-fault party owed the victim a duty of reasonable carefulness
• This duty was violated by the at-fault party’s negligence
• The victim suffered damages because of this negligence

California drivers are duty-bound to drive safely and reasonably under the circumstances, and are liable for injuries they cause when they don’t. Drinking and driving would be an example of a decision that is not reasonable.

Negligence is usually an example of not acting reasonably. Speeding while texting in foggy conditions would be unreasonable and negligent. Ignoring a red light would be unreasonable and negligent.

The victim in a bicycle accident claim must prove that their damages were directly caused by the negligence of the at-fault party.

Proving negligence is our bread and butter at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers. It’s what we’ve been doing for injured bicyclists since 1990. Call us today for a free consultation so we can help you prove that your bicycle crash was somebody else’s fault.

Bicycle Accident Types

Types of bicycle accidents include:

• Right cross accidents: These are the most common type of bicycle accidents. This is when a car pulls out into the road from the right side of a street into the path of a cyclist. The car can be coming from another road, an alleyway, a parking lot or a driveway.
• “Dooring”: This is when a parked car opens a door into the pathway of a cyclist, causing the cyclist to collide head-on with the door. This is common on streets with parallel parking and a bike lane right next to the parked cars.
• Intersection accidents: These typically occur at intersections where only one street has stop signs. One party goes through the intersection with the right of way, the other party stops at the stop sign, then proceeds into the intersection right into the path of the other party.
• Riding against traffic: A large percentage of bicycle accidents are caused by cyclists illegally riding against the flow of traffic. Some cyclists may feel safer riding against traffic because they can see the cars coming towards them, but this is illegal and dangerous. Bicycles are considered vehicles and cyclists must obey traffic laws.
• Left turn accidents: These occur when a cyclist and an automobile approach the same intersection from opposite directions. The automobile then turns left into the cyclist, who is going straight.
• Right turn accidents: These occur when a bicyclist is to the right of a car at an intersection. The car then turns right, either directly into the bike or cutting off the bike in the process.

Common Bicycle Accident Injuries

Bike accidents can lead to serious injuries. Severe injuries can occur because cyclists aren’t afforded the protection of a vehicle shell around them.

Injuries which are commonly seen by our bicycle accident lawyers include:

Head Injuries

Head injuries such as concussions and traumatic brain injuries are very common in bicycle accidents. Between one quarter and one half of injured cyclists end up with a head injury, and head injuries lead to over six-tenths of bicycle accident deaths.

Head injuries can range from minor injuries like cuts and bruises to more serious injuries like concussions, fractured skulls and brain damage.

Those who suffer concussions can end up with symptoms like headaches, dizziness and memory problems.

Bike crashes can also cause blood clots in the brain or near it, which may be life-threatening.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Cyclists who suffer impacts to the spine may end up with a fractured spine, damaged spinal disks or nerve damage. These can lead to permanent changes in their sensation, body function and strength below where the injury occurred.

Spinal cord injuries often occur when a cyclist is thrown to the ground during an accident.

Spinal cord injuries can lead to:

• Breathing issues
• Nerve damage pain
• Changes in sexual function
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Lost sensation
• Lost movement
• Death

Facial Injuries

Facial injuries such as broken noses, dislocated or broken jaws, dental injuries and eye injuries are common in bicycle crashes. Other injuries which can occur to the face in a bicycle accident include cuts, bruises, orbital fractures and broken cheekbones.

Broken Bones

Fractured bones are common in bicycle accidents. Some of the most commonly fractured bones that our law firm sees in bicycle accident cases include:

• Collarbones
• Fingers
• Wrists
• Hands
• Pelvises
• Hips
• Ankles
• Feet
• Arms
• Femurs

Cyclists sometimes fracture other bones like ribs and their spine.

Causes Of Bicycle Accidents

Most bicycle accidents would never happen if drivers would simply follow the law and remain attentive to their surroundings. Common causes of bicycle accidents include:

• Speeding
• Driving while distracted
• Driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs
• Defective roads
• Dooring
• Failing to obey street signals and signs
• Bad weather
• Road rage
• Not giving bicycles enough space
• Weaving through traffic
• Changing lanes in an unsafe manner
• Turning before looking
• Fatigued drivers
• Aggressive driving

Interest in green transportation is only growing, meaning the number of bicyclists on the road is likely to increase. It is important for us all to drive more safely and design roads with cyclists in mind.

Other drivers are not always responsible for bicycle accident injuries. Public entities and bicycle equipment manufacturers can also be held liable for damages in some bicycle accidents. Public departments of transportation are duty-bound to design and maintain roads that are safe, and bicycle and helmet manufacturers are duty-bound to sell safe products. Public entities can be held liable for bike accident injuries when their unsafe roads cause the accident and bicycle and bicycle equipment manufacturers can be held liable for bike accident injuries when their defective products directly contribute to the injuries.

Do I Need A Bicycle Accident Lawyer In Palm Desert?

While it’s not technically a requirement to have a lawyer to file a bicycle accident claim, you won’t be able to recover the compensation you’re entitled to under California law without a lawyer, and it’s dangerous for you to talk to insurance companies without a lawyer.

California law holds negligent drivers liable for injuries they cause. This means a negligent driver’s insurance company is obligated to pay for your injuries. However, that insurance company will only offer you a fraction of what they’re obligated to pay you if you don’t have a lawyer. They’ll do so, daring you to sue them over it, knowing you can’t sue them and win without an attorney.

It’s only when the insurance company receives a letter of representation from an experienced bicycle accident law firm like Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers will they even consider actually paying you what you deserve.

It’s dangerous for you to talk to the at-fault party’s insurance company after an accident because adjusters are very good at tricking injury victims into accidentally saying the wrong thing to them. Once you accidentally say the wrong thing to an insurance adjuster, the value of your claim can instantly plummet.

Calling Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers is the best way to ensure you receive the most compensation for your bicycle accident injuries. Studies show that injury victims who hire legal representation recover far more money than those who don’t, even after legal fees are taken into account. Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can handle all communications with insurance companies for you so you don’t have to worry about incriminating yourself after your bicycle accident.

Call us today for a free consultation so we can maximize your financial recovery.

Palm Desert Bicycle Accident Lawyer

We know what you’re going through. We know you’re in pain and unable to work and make money and, to make things even worse financially, you’re facing huge medical bills. We can help. We can obtain the best medical care for you on a lien, meaning you won’t have to pay for it until your case is over. We can obtain compensation for your pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earning capacity and medical bills. We can deal with the insurance companies for you while you concentrate on recovering from your injuries, which is absolutely critical because insurance company employees are trained to trick you into saying things they can take advantage of to pay you less.

Best of all, we can do all these things for you while giving you our no fee promise! You will never owe us a single penny out of your own pocket because we never charge a fee to people who we do not obtain a recovery for. We only charge you a percentage of your recovery if and only if we obtain a recovery for you.

Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one was injured in a bicycle accident. You can also fill out our free case evaluation form or text us from this page.