Birmingham Bike Accident Lawyer
Being involved in an accident with a car or truck while riding a bicycle can be a terrifying experience. A collision between vehicles weighing many tons and a bicyclist can cause serious physical damage and psychological trauma to the rider of the bike.
Dealing with the insurance companies only makes matters worse. They often attempt to minimize a person’s injuries or even try to blame the bicyclist. Birmingham bicycle accident attorneys work to protect clients’ rights against aggressive insurance companies and to recover fair compensation for their injuries. To discuss your case and the legal options available, consult with an experienced Birmingham injury attorney today.
Law Concerning Bicycle Accidents in Alabama
Most cases involving collisions between bicyclists and motor vehicles are pursued under the legal theory of negligence. Negligence is a legal theory under the common law.
This means that Alabama has not passed a statute defining what constitutes negligence. Rather, negligence is defined by the courts using the process known as common law.
Common law is a network of case decisions that the court is likely to follow in the future. This creates a legal standard that is followed over time. There are five parts, or elements, in a negligence claim that a Birmingham bike accident attorney must prove:
1. Duty – In certain situations, a person has a responsibility to protect others. This is known as a duty of care. People driving cars always have a duty of care for other drivers, pedestrians, and bicycle riders.
2. Breach – A breach of the duty of care occurs when a person either takes an action, or fails to take an action, to uphold their duty of care. For example, not looking both ways when progressing through an intersection and colliding with a bike rider may be a breach of the duty of care.
3. Cause – The accident must have been the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. One tactic used by insurance companies is to argue that the injuries existed prior to the accident.
4. Scope – The injuries must have been foreseeable under the circumstances. Collisions between bike riders and cars can certainly lead to significant injury so this element is rarely contested.
5. Damages – There must be a physical injury to prevail in a negligence claim.
Contributory Negligence
Alabama is also a contributory negligence state under Alabama Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c). This means that if the plaintiff is even one percent at fault for the accident, they will be prevented from recovery at trial.
Bicycle accident attorneys in Birmingham work to present clients’ cases to the insurance company in a way that portrays the other driver as being 100 percent at fault. More information about contributory negligence can be found here.
One more aspect to consider is the concept of statute of limitations. The statute of limitations can be seen as a time limit for a plaintiff to come forward. Alabama Code Title 6-2-38 states that a complaint alleging personal injury must be filed within two years of the accident.
While this can seem like a long time, medical treatment and negotiations with insurance companies can often stretch for months or even years.
Let a Birmingham Bicycle Accident Attorney Assist You
For people that have been involved in an accident while riding their bicycle, the process of pursuing a claim can be intimidating.
From simply seeking necessary medical treatment to figuring out how to pay for that treatment, to dealing with aggressive insurance companies, the process can be overwhelming. Birmingham bicycle accident lawyers are here to help.
We work with bicycle riders, who have been injured through no fault of their own, to fight for fair compensation for their injuries.
Most cases do not need to go to trial, but if a complaint does need to be filed, our firm’s litigators will be by your side every step of the way. Time is of the essence in these cases; contact our firm today.
