"THE BEST."
Soon Young K., Diamond Bar, CA
BICYCLE ACCIDENT
A BICYCLE ACCIDENT CASE
A bicycle accident case involves injury to either a rider, passenger, or pedestrian due to an accident involving a bicycle.
A BICYCLE IS TREATED THE SAME AS A CAR UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW
Pursuant to California Vehicle Code §21200, a bicycle is equivalent to a car and is subject to all the vehicle codes pertaining to a driver of an automobile, even its DUI penalties. As such, all drivers of cars must share the road with bicycles as if they are cars.
NUMBER OF ROAD ACCIDENT INJURIES IN THE U.S.
Approximately 2.35 million people are injured or disabled due to a road crash each year. Although road crashes are caused by many different factors, the most obvious and common cause is driver negligence. Moreover, due to the growing population and the increasing number of vehicles in the roads today, there are more chances of a road crashes causing injury and harm to you.
5 THINGS TO DO AFTER A BICYCLE ACCIDENT
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Stay Calm. Panicking will not help the situation, but only worsen the situation.
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Call 911. Let them know of the seriously of any injuries. Some police agencies may not come to the scene of the accident (e.g. LAPD) if you don't report injuries. If the police are not at the scene yet, write down the other person's license plate number or any other information that may be related to that person or vehicle, especially if you believe he or she intends to run from the accident. Ask for the police report (or NCIC) number so you can request it immediately when made available.
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Take pictures or videos. Almost everyone has a camera on their cell phones these days. Use it. Take as many pictures as you can of the scene of the accident and anything related to it. Don't question what is relevant or not at the scene, just take as much photos or video as you can to record the event, especially of the damages to any related vehicles. Let an experienced attorney determinate what photos and/or videos will be relevant to your case.
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Do not make any admissions of fault. Record only facts and state only facts of the incident if you must.
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Contact an experienced personal injury attorney before contacting the insurance companies or other party.
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A LAWYER FOR AN INJURY ACCIDENT
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Insurance companies don't want to pay you a fair share for your injuries and loss. Insurance companies are in the business to make money, not give it away. Don't mistake their niceness on the telephone for fairness. Insurance companies are not on your side when it comes to accidents and losses.
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Insurance companies don't want to help you. They will low ball you and work against you at every point of your case. Have you ever experienced the other driver's insurance company calling you right after an accident for a recorded statement? They aggressively ask you numerous vague and over broad questions, then use your responses against you later when its suits them. We strongly recommend that you have legal representation prior to giving your statement to an insurance company, even your own.
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Insurance companies don't respect you. They will make every effort to use the law to their advantage only. For example, they may tell you that you must repair your car at "their" preferred body shop. That is a lie. In California, you have the right to repair your car at "your" preferred body shop. When an experienced personal injury attorney is representing you, insurance companies limit their game play to a minimum.
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Insurances companies will often times offer more money for cases involving an attorney than what they would have offered without one.
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An experienced personal injury attorney will handle your case from start to finish, reducing or eliminating the stress and anxiety typically experienced after an accident of any type. The emotional freedom may offer you luxury of getting back on your feet that much sooner and smoother. And, best of all you don't have to pay for attorney's fees until your case is won.