Salinas, CA saw 196 traffic accidents involving bicycles from 2015 to 2020, leading to 197 injuries and one death, according to UC Berkeley data.
The Salinas bicycle accident lawyers at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers are actively representing those who are injured in bicycle accidents. We have been handling bike accidents since 1990 and have recovered over $750,000,000 on behalf of our clients in that time.
Bicycle accident injuries can be especially severe, since a bicycle accident victim doesn’t have a protective shell around them like those in the vehicle which strikes them. Common bicycle accident injuries include severe injuries such as traumatic brain injuries and broken bones.
If you’ve suffered serious injuries in a bicycle accident and can’t afford treatment, our law firm works with the best doctors in the state who will treat you on a lien, meaning you won’t be charged for treatment until your case is over.
Best of all, our Salinas bicycle accident attorneys will represent you on a contingency fee basis. This means that we will not charge you until and unless we win your case. The only fee we charge is a percentage of any financial compensation we recover for you, so if we don’t recover any money for you, you owe us nothing.
Call us today for a free consultation or text us from this page if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a bicycle accident. You may be eligible for financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and more.
Can I File A Bicycle Accident Claim in Salinas?
We can help you file a bicycle accident claim if you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident and the accident was someone else’s fault, meaning someone else’s negligence caused the accident.
Most bicycle accident claims involve someone causing the accident via negligence. However, it can be difficult to identify who is at fault for an accident and prove they were at fault.
We diligently perform thorough investigations of bike accident claims so we can prove to insurance companies that the injured cyclists we represent deserve full compensation for their injuries, or prove to juries that our seriously injured clients weren’t at fault. Proving negligence is our bread and butter at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers; it is what we have been doing for over three decades.
Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers
(831) 301-0707
At-fault parties in bicycle accident cases can be at fault for many reasons, such as:
- Driving while impaired: A drunk driver is a negligent driver, and it can be hard enough for a drunk driver to avoid hitting cars. However, cyclists can be difficult to notice on the road, so it can be especially difficult for drugged or drunk drivers to notice and avoid striking bicyclists. Unfortunately, many bicycle accidents are caused by impaired drivers.
- Road rage and driving aggressively: Drivers in California are notorious for being in a rush. Motor vehicles move a lot faster than bicycles, and when drivers get impatient, they sometimes get aggressive. Drivers might tailgate cyclists to encourage them to speed up or move over. Drivers might also attempt to pass cyclists and get too close to them, striking them. Drivers who experience road rage have even been known to threaten or intentionally strike bicyclists.
- Driving carelessly: Drivers need to pay attention and obey traffic laws in order to share the road with cyclists in a safe manner. When drivers drive carelessly, they make mistakes such as failing to yield, failing to signal, or driving while distracted, and these mistakes can lead to a bicycle crash.
- Dooring: Dooring is when a vehicle occupant opens a door into the path of a cyclist. This occurs when vehicle occupants fail to check behind the vehicle before opening a door. Dooring accidents can lead to catastrophic injuries when cyclists are thrown from their bicycles, sometimes into traffic.
Some at-fault parties in a bicycle accident case aren’t drivers. Employers can be an at-fault party when their employees cause an accident while on the job. Non-drivers can also be at fault for bicycle accidents in other circumstances, such as:
- Defective bicycles, bicycle parts and bicycle helmets: Those who manufacture bicycles, bicycle parts and bicycle helmets are duty-bound to sell safe equipment. Product manufacturers can be found at-fault for bicycle accidents when a defective product such as a defective bicycle causes an accident, and bicycle helmet manufacturers can be found at-fault for head injuries when the helmets don’t work properly.
- Dangerous roadway conditions: Government agencies can be found at-fault for bicycle accidents when bicycle accidents are caused by dangerous roadway conditions such as potholes or badly designed bike lanes.
Compensation For Bicycle Accidents
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident, a Salinas bicycle accident attorney at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can help you obtain compensation for many types of damages, including:
- Medical expenses: A personal injury case such as a bicycle accident case typically involves medical bills. If you have suffered injuries in a bicycle accident, you are probably already facing medical bills related to your crash, and you may require medical treatment in the future which will generate yet more medical bills. A personal injury lawyer at our firm can help you obtain financial compensation for past and future medical bills related to your bike accident.
- Lost wages: Injured bicyclists are often unable to work for a period of time after their accident, and often need to take time off from work to receive medical care. If injuries suffered in a bicycle accident have caused you to miss work, a Salinas bicycle accident lawyer at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers can help you seek fair compensation for any wages you were unable to earn due to your accident.
- Loss of earning capacity: Personal injury cases such as bicycle accident cases often involve victims who are unable to ever work again after their accident, or victims who aren’t ever again able to do the job they used to do before their accident. Our experienced attorneys can help you seek compensation for any loss of earning capacity related to your bike accident.
- Pain and suffering: Those who are injured in a cycling crash often experience physical pain and mental suffering. If your bicycle accident was someone else’s fault, you are entitled under California law to financial compensation for any pain and suffering connected to your bicycle accident.
- Wrongful death: Unfortunately, bicycle accidents can lead to fatal injuries. If you have lost a loved one to a bicycle accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation for burial and funeral expenses, the loss of your loved one’s income, the loss of your loved one’s companionship and love, your loved one’s pain and suffering, your loved one’s medical bills and more.
Do I Need A Bicycle Accident Lawyer In Salinas?
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident, the source of financial compensation for your injuries will almost always end up being an insurance company. However, insurance companies will simply not offer you what you deserve for your injuries unless you have a lawyer, so if you want to recover all of the compensation you are entitled to under California law, you need experienced bicycle accident lawyers like those at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers on your side.
You are entitled under California law to compensation for any damages related to your bicycle accident if your accident was someone else’s fault. However, the at-fault party’s insurance company knows that you can’t make them pay you what you’re entitled to if you don’t have a lawyer. The only way you can make an insurance company pay you what you deserve is if you sue them, and the insurance companies know you can’t win a lawsuit without a lawyer. Thus, a bicycle rider without a lawyer will only see lowball offers extended to them by insurance companies.
Hiring an experienced Salinas bicycle accident lawyer like the lawyers at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers sends a message to insurance companies that you are playing hardball. It sends the message that if the insurance company doesn’t pay up, you’ll sue them and you’ll win. Almost all of our cases settle out of court because insurance companies know about our reputation for success and know that if they don’t pay our clients what they deserve, we’ll sue them and we’ll win.
In addition, talking with the at-fault party’s insurance company is one of the most dangerous things you can do after a bicycle accident. Insurance adjusters are taught by insurance companies to trick injury victims into saying things, while being recorded, that imply they were at fault for an accident, or that imply their injuries aren’t as severe as they claim. Saying the wrong thing to an insurance adjuster can severely impair your ability to recover all of the money you’re entitled to. You need experienced lawyers like the ones at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers to handle all communications and negotiations with insurance companies for you so you don’t have to worry about incriminating yourself.
The best way for you to ensure you receive the most compensation for your injuries is to call us today for a free case review. Injury victims who have lawyers end up receiving far more money for their injuries than those who don’t, on average, even after contingency fees are taken into account.
What Should I Do After A Bicycle Accident In Salinas?
- Wait for police: If any property damage or injuries have occurred, you’re legally obligated to remain at the accident scene until police arrive. Wait for police even if you don’t think you’ve been injured. You might not realize you have suffered injuries until afterwards. It might be impossible for you to find the motorist once you leave the scene, and while a police report is inadmissible in court as evidence, police reports can be crucial evidence when trying to get insurance companies to pay you what you deserve for your injuries. Request a copy of the police report from the police who arrive at the scene. Report any injuries to the police, no matter how small.
- Don’t negotiate at the scene: Do not negotiate with any drivers even if they accept fault for the accident and apologize. You might not realize how badly you are hurt or how badly your bike is damaged, and drivers can change their minds later and deny accidents.
- Obtain contact information: Get the contact information of any drivers involved and any witnesses to the accident. Get the insurance information of any drivers involved, as well as their driver’s license numbers and license plate numbers.
- Document the accident: Write down everything that happened, such as accident location, accident time, weather conditions, traffic conditions and road conditions. Draw maps or diagrams depicting the direction and position of every party involved. Note any traffic lights, signs or streets involved. Take pictures of the accident scene, including pictures of any vehicles involved, any injuries, any relevant roadway conditions and any relevant traffic signs or signals.
- Seek medical attention immediately: It is vital that you do this even if you don’t think you’ve been hurt that badly. It is common for bicycle accident victims to not realize they’ve been hurt until days, weeks or even months after an accident. Getting any injuries documented immediately by a medical professional prevents insurance companies from claiming your injuries were caused by something other than your accident.
- Don’t talk to the at-fault party’s insurance company: It’s dangerous to do so. Leave this to your lawyer instead.
- Call Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers: The last thing you need after suffering injuries in a bicycle accident is to handle the process of filing a claim yourself. This process is long, difficult and complex, and not only can it cause you unnecessary stress while you’re dealing with your injuries, but it’s very easy to mess up this process if you’re not a lawyer with experience handling bicycle accident claims.
We will handle every aspect of your case for you so all you need to do is focus on recovering from your injuries.
Call us today for a free consultation or text us from this page if you or a loved one was injured or killed in a bicycle crash in Salinas. You may be entitled to financial compensation.