If you were injured in a bicycle accident, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at OnderLaw today. Accidents are frightening experiences, especially when you’re on a bike that offers no protection from outside elements. Our legal team knows a bicycle injury can be a serious setback in your life. We will do whatever it takes to help you move forward.

When someone else is responsible for your injuries, you have the right to hold them liable for their actions. Even though you were injured on your bicycle, you could file an insurance claim or lawsuit for the maximum financial compensation necessary to cover your medical bills, prescription costs, lost wages, and other expenses you incur. Our St. Charles bicycle accident lawyers are ready to fight for your rights and seek the justice you deserve.

Call OnderLaw for a free consultation to find out more about the legal services we offer and how we can help you get back on your feet after a bicycle accident.

Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents

Whenever you get on your bike and head out on the open road, you put yourself at risk of harm. Although there are traffic laws to protect every bicyclist, driver, passenger, and pedestrian, many people don’t follow those laws. Driver inattention and error are common among motorists. When someone isn’t focusing on the task of driving, they can’t react appropriately or quickly to an emergency or the changing traffic ahead.

Some of the most common causes of bicycle accidents in St. Charles include:

  • Distracted driving
  • Passing a bicyclist too closely
  • Speeding
  • Unsafe lane changes
  • Turning without looking for a bicyclist
  • Running a stop sign or red light
  • Failure to yield the right of way
  • Failure to stop at a crosswalk
  • Backing up without checking behind
  • Opening a car door in front of a bicyclist’s path

Regardless of how the accident occurred, if you sustained injuries in an accident caused by another party, you deserve to be compensated for your pain and suffering. The at-fault party should be responsible for your resulting hospital bills, physical therapy, and other expenses. After seeking initial medical care, hire an experienced attorney from OnderLaw, and we’ll begin working on your case.

Seek Medical Treatment Immediately After the Bike Accident

There are steps you should take following your accident to protect your health as well as your right to compensation. The most important step is to seek medical treatment if you have sustained any injuries. Even if the injury seems minor and you’re not in any pain, you should still see a doctor for a physical examination. The shock of your accident may diminish the severity of the injury, causing delayed symptoms that don’t appear until days or weeks later.

The physician might refer you to follow-up with a specialist, a physical therapist, or imaging tests. Follow their orders and continue treating your injuries until your doctors release you from their care. Insurance companies will look for information to prove that your injuries are not as serious as you claim. They can use evidence such as delayed medical treatment or skipped doctors’ appointments to deny your claim or provide a settlement offer much lower than you need and deserve.

While you’re treating your injuries, keep copies of all medical records, bills, prescriptions, and other documents. Medical records are critical for proving you sustained injuries in the bike accident and showing your treatment and recovery timeline.

Also, consider keeping a pain journal to track your daily physical pain and emotional suffering. This journal could provide valuable evidence of the pain and suffering you’ve endured as a result of the accident.

At OnderLaw, our team of experienced bicycle crash attorneys in St. Charles can help you gather all of the records and documentation associated with the case to provide to the insurance company. We’ll work hard to negotiate a settlement we believe is fair, so you can afford your expenses and cover your losses. If the insurance company refuses to budge on its decision to provide a low settlement amount, we can move forward with a lawsuit.

We’ll Gather Evidence to Support Your Case

Insurance companies will often look to gather information they can use to either deny your claim or minimize your payout. Your St. Charles bicycle accident attorneys will thoroughly investigate your accident to gather evidence that supports your case for full and fair compensation.

Some of the evidence we’ll gather may include:

  • The police report. If an officer was called to the scene of the accident, they would have written an accident report that includes valuable information, such as the contact and insurance information of the parties involved, a description of the events that led to the accident, and possibly their opinion of who was at fault for the accident.
  • Medical records. We’ll gather all of the medical records associated with your injuries and also ensure those records clearly document the extent of your injuries.
  • Video surveillance or photos of the accident. We’ll gather photos and look for nearby traffic camera footage or video surveillance that may have captured the accident.
  • Eyewitness statements. If anyone saw what happened, such as pedestrians or occupants in other vehicles, we could track them down and take down their statements. Eyewitness statements can provide crucial evidence after a bike accident.
  • Expert witness statements. If needed, we will hire expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists who can recreate the scene of the accident or medical experts who can establish the extent of your injuries.
  • Cell phone records. The at-fault driver’s cell phone records may prove that the driver was distracted at the time of the accident.
  • Additional documentation. We’ll gather all of the documents related to the injury and your losses, such as medical bills, tax documents, and pay stubs.

We’ll Negotiate Skillfully for a Fair Settlement

Insurance adjusters are responsible for reviewing claims and determining a settlement claimants deserve. You might think they will keep your best interests in mind, but their objective is to persuade you to accept as little money as possible for your claim. If you don’t have a St. Charles bicycle collision attorney on your side, the insurance company could intimidate you into accepting a low settlement offer or get away with unfairly denying your claim.

At OnderLaw, we know how insurance companies operate and their tactics to take advantage of accident victims. We will directly communicate with the insurance adjuster so you don’t risk saying something that could impact your case’s outcome. We’ll aggressively negotiate for the maximum available insurance coverage to compensate you for your expenses, suffering, and other losses resulting from the accident.

Compensation You Might Be Entitled to After a Bicycle Crash in St. Charles

After sustaining injuries in a bike accident, you should know that you can file a claim with the at-fault driver’s auto insurance company. You might assume that because you were on a bike at the time of the crash, you can’t use auto insurance as a source of financial compensation. However, you have rights following the bike accident, and a motorist’s liability insurance can cover the losses suffered by an injured driver, passenger, motorcyclist, pedestrian, or bicyclist.

Missouri uses a fault system to determine liability after an accident. Whoever is at fault becomes financially responsible for the injuries, medical treatment, lost wages, and other losses associated with the accident. Their auto insurance policy should include liability coverage with the following minimum limits:

  • Bodily injury per person – $25,000
  • Bodily injury per accident – $50,000
  • Property damage – $10,000

When you file an insurance claim, you could seek compensation for the losses below, up to the limits listed on the at-fault driver’s policy:

  • Medical bills
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Property damage
  • Loss of consortium
  • Wrongful death

State laws require every driver to purchase liability insurance. However, if your accident was caused by an uninsured driver, you could file a claim with your auto insurance company. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is available when the at-fault driver doesn’t have liability insurance. When you file a UM claim, you could seek compensation for the following losses:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Property damage
  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity

The St. Charles bike accident attorneys of OnderLaw know how to effectively handle insurance claims to recover the maximum compensation owed to our clients. We will explore every avenue to secure the monetary award that’s needed to cover your past and future losses.

Contact a St. Charles Bicycle Accident Attorney Today

At OnderLaw, our job is to make your life easier. When we take on a client’s case, we handle every step of the injury claims process. You won’t have to worry about navigating the complex legal road, adhering to strict deadlines, or completing confusing paperwork. We’ll take care of all of that for you.

Our St. Charles bicycle accident lawyers have recovered over $3 billion in compensation for accident victims since opening our firm. We work hard and get results. Our legal team cares about our clients and the outcome we reach in their cases. When you hire us, you can depend on us to fight vigorously to achieve your legal goals.

Call OnderLaw for a free consultation if you were injured in a bicycle accident in St. Charles.