Mountain Bike Accident Attorney
Here’s What You Need to Know if You’re Injured in a Mountinan Bike Accident
Mountian bike riding is an exhilirating experience. What’s great about it is that the sides of many mountainous roads have bike lanes for riders. While this is a great safety feature for riders, oftentimes, due to the turns and curves of the mountain side, there are dangers with sharing the road with vehicles.
If you’ve been hit by a vehicle while mountain biking, you may be eligible for compensation. The expert team of bike accident attorneys at West Coast Trial Lawyers are here to help you make the recovery that you deserve and answer all of your questions. Let’s explore what to do after a mountain biking accident and liability in this type of case.
What to Do After a Mountain Biking Accident
Mountain bike riding accident can occur in remote, oftentimes desolate, within the blink of an eye without anyone around to help you out. Here’s what to do after a mountain biking accident to ensure your safety and well-being:
- Call 911 and request emergency services. After an accident, it’s imperative to get help as soon as possible. If you are able to, call 911 to request an officer come to the scene of the accident to file an official police report along with an ambulance to provide you with immediate medical attention and take you to the hospital. However, when in a remote area, being able to call for such help could be more difficult to come by. If you don’t have any signal, and need help, don’t turn off your celular device. If you were hit by a vehicle, one would hope that that the driver would be kind enough to assist you to safety. However, if the driver got away or there was no driver or vehicle involved, try to flag a passerby vehicle to get you to safety. Once to safety, call 911 and request emergency medical assistance.
- Exchange information with the other party involved in the accident. This is a crucial step to take after an accident in order to contact insurance companies and hold the other party accountable. Whether you were involved with a motorist or bicyclist on the road, it’s important to exchange information with the other party involved. You should exchange names, phone numbers, insurance information, and driver’s license information.
- Gather as much evidence as possible. The easiest way to do this would be to take photos of the accident site, injuries, location, property damage, and any other important information. These photos and evidence is important to building your case when you file an insurance claim. If there were any witnesses of the accident or your injuries, get their contact information and ask if they would be willing to share their witness testimony.
- Get help from a lawyer to file a personal injury claim. An experienced bike accident attorney can help you build your case, determine liability, and file a successful claim on your behalf. The bike accident attorneys at West Coast Trial Lawyers are expert negotiators who can ensure that you recover maximum compensation for the losses you experienced as a result of your accident.
Who’s Liable for Injuries in a Mountain Biking Accident?
A mountian biking accident could be caused by a number of different factors. California is a comparative liability state, meaning that more than one person can he held liable for causing an accident. Just who can be held liable for your injuries as a result of that accident is dependent on the level of negligence that was contributed by each party involved.
Everyone owes eachother a duty of care when out on the road. This means that everyone owes one another the responsibility to engage on the road in a safe manner that follows the rules of the road and prevent accidents and injuries from happening.
When it comes to a mountain biking accident, the party at fault could be the mountain bike themself, a motor vehiclist, or the bike manufacturer.
Here are the different scenarios in which these different parties could be held liable for causing an accident:
- The cyclist themself could be liable for their own injuries if their own bike riding was reckless or negligent, such as if they were cycling without following the appropriate rules of the road, such as following traffic signals and riding on the correct side of the road.
- A driver of a motor vechicle could be held liable for the injuries of a cyclist injured in an accident if their reckless driving resulted in the accident. Examples of reckless driving in mountainous areas could include speeding or driving with broken lights.
- The bike manufacturer could be held liable for injuries resulting from an accident if they manufactured a bicycle with fault parts that contributed to the accident. In this case, it would require a thorough examination of the bicycle to determine manufacturer liability.
Who can be held liable for a mountain biking accident depends on the level of reckless or negligent behavior that a person contributes to an accident. Liability can be determined by an expert bike accident attoreny.
West Coast Trial Lawyers is Here to Help
If you’ve been injured in a mountain biking accident, the expert bike accident attorneys at West Coast Trial Lawyers are here to help you build your case and file a successful claim on your behalf.
We offer free consultations and work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning that you won’t owe us a penny unless we settle or win your case. Contact us today to schedule an appointment by calling (213) 927-3700 or by emailing [email protected].