The Villages Bicycle Accident Lawyer
The Villages has miles and miles of paths and roadways perfect for a scenic ride. While bike paths are typically safe, roadways aren’t. Drivers don’t always share the road as required. And when a bicycle accident happens, it can result in catastrophic injuries, lost wages, and considerable pain and suffering.
If you were injured in a bike accident, our personal injury lawyers in The Villages can fight for every dollar you deserve. Call Meldon Law today for a free consultation with our team: (352) 373-8000.
Damages Our Bicycle Accident Lawyers in The Villages Can Recover for You
Bike accidents can lead to serious or even fatal injuries. Damages from these accidents are often high. Our team will identify and fight for every economic and non-economic damage you deserve. Your compensation demand could include:
Medical Bills
Any medical care you received or will need in the future is compensable. Some examples of recoverable medical bills include:
- Ambulance transport
- Emergency treatment
- Prescription medications
- Surgeries
- Assistive devices
- Treatment for infection
- Physical therapy
Lost Wages
You can recover compensation for any wages you lost during your recovery.
Lost Earning Capacity
If your injuries require you to move to a lower-paying job, work fewer hours, or retire, you deserve compensation for that loss of earning capacity.
Any Related Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Many people don’t know that they can recover almost any accident expenses. This includes:
- Transportation to and from doctor’s appointments
- Any home or vehicle renovations required to accommodate a disability (e.g., wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, a handbrake)
- Help for tasks you used to handle before your accident, such as childcare, yard work, or housekeeping
Our team will investigate your accident to identify all out-of-pocket expenses.
Property Damage
You can recover compensation for your damaged bike.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering is part of a larger type of losses, known as “non-economic damages.” Other non-economic damages include:
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
- Inconvenience
- Development of a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder
- Disfigurement
- Humiliation
Wrongful Death Damages
If you lost a loved one in a fatal bicycle crash, please accept our condolences. We would be honored to help you seek justice for your loved one through a wrongful death claim. Legal action also helps you recover the compensation you need for:
- Funeral and burial costs
- Lost support and services
- Your loved one’s medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Lost companionship
When you work with Meldon Law, our accident attorneys will ensure that we have accounted for every dollar your accident has cost you.
Experience the Meldon Law Difference
When you work with the Meldon Law team, you aren’t just getting a personal injury attorney. You’re getting an entire team who cares about you. You’re getting a team that is Compassionate, Accountable, and Reliable, that values Excellence, and is driven by Success.
You’re getting 50+ years of experience helping injured Floridians get back on their feet after serious injuries. You’re getting a team that won’t back down from any fight, even when the chips are down.
And we do all of this for no upfront costs. Call Meldon Law to learn more: (352) 373-8000.
Bicycle Accident FAQs
After an accident, you likely have dozens of questions and not many answers. Below, we’ve answered some of the questions we receive most frequently from injured people across Florida.
What Is My Case Worth?
We can’t determine what your case is worth without investigating your accident. However, here are common factors that can affect what you are able to recover:
- The severity of your injuries
- How long your injuries will take to heal
- The treatment you need for your injuries
- Whether you are able to work and in what capacity
- Your age and profession
- Whether the other party is claiming you contributed to the accident
Should I Speak with the Insurance Company?
While you need to discuss your case with your insurance company, you should only give them the basics. Tell them when and where the accident happened and who was involved. If the insurance adjuster asks if you are injured, tell them you’re waiting to hear back from your doctor.
These same tips apply if you are speaking to the driver’s insurance company. However, there are a few more things to keep in mind when speaking with the other party’s insurer:
- Do not give a recorded statement. The driver’s insurer will attempt to use anything you say during this call against you.
- Do not apologize for the accident. The insurance adjuster can take an apology as an admission of fault.
- Do not say,”I’m okay.” If the insurer asks you how you’re doing, say that you’re waiting for your examination results. The adjuster can use something as simple as “I’m okay” to claim you are uninjured.
- Do not let them trick you into handling your case without a lawyer. The insurance adjuster may claim that getting a lawyer is a waste of money and that you can handle your case without one. They are hoping you’ll handle your case alone so they can pay you what they want and move on.
It’s important that you allow us to handle communications with the insurance company. Insurance adjusters know how to trick you into saying something that could jeopardize your case.
Should I Accept an Offer from the Insurance Company?
You should not accept a settlement offer from the insurance company until you’ve run it past us. Chances are, you aren’t aware of every damage you can recover. This could mean you lose out on thousands of dollars or more.
Once you accept a settlement offer, you can’t come back and ask for more. This is true even if you develop complications or require surgery that costs you tens of thousands of dollars.
What Should I Do After My Accident to Protect My Case?
As we stated above, you should not give the insurance company too many details or accept an offer before we’ve reviewed it. However, there are other things you can do to protect your health and your accident claim:
- Call 911 to the scene. The dispatcher will send law enforcement to create an accident report and paramedics to treat any injuries. Allow EMTs to treat you; this will ensure you get medical care for any serious injuries and link your injuries to the accident.
- Continue medical care. If you skip appointments or deviate from your treatment plan, the insurer can claim you are contributing to your injuries.
- Keep copies of your expenses from the accident. This will help us determine a value for your claim.
- Avoid posting about your accident on social media. The insurer can use anything you post against you.
How Do I Recover Compensation for a Bike Crash?
You must be able to prove that the other party’s negligence caused your accident. To do so, we will establish the following:
- Duty of care: The driver must have owed you a duty of care. This is typically easy to prove as drivers owe all road users a duty to drive safely to prevent accidents.
- Breach of duty: The driver breached their duty by behaving negligently. Examples of negligence may include distracted driving, drunk driving, failing to look twice for bicycle riders, driving in the bike lane, failing to yield the right of way, or running a stop sign or red light.
- Causation: The driver’s negligence must have caused your accident and injuries (e.g., the driver failed to check their blind spot and sideswiped you, causing you to crash and suffer catastrophic injuries.)
- Damages: You must have suffered damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
If your bike wreck resulted from a defective part, we don’t need to establish negligence. We only need to prove that you were using your bike as expected when a defect caused an accident (e.g., the brakes failed to work) and your injuries.
Can I Recover Compensation If I Contributed to My Bike Crash in The Villages?
Yes. Comparative negligence laws allow injured parties whose own negligence contributed to an accident recover compensation.
However, it’s important to note that Florida’s modified comparative negligence law allows you to recover compensation only if you are 50% or less responsible for your accident. This is why it is so important to get an injury lawyer to help with your accident claim.
How Long Do I Have to Take Legal Action?
Per Florida Statute 95.11, you have only two years to file a lawsuit after an accident. This same deadline applies if you lost a loved one in a bike accident. If you fail to take action within this time, you could lose your right to recover compensation.
What Injuries Commonly Occur in a Bicycle Accident?
Bike accident injuries are often much more severe than those suffered in your standard motor vehicle accident. They often lead to medical expenses in the tens of thousands. We can help with any type of bicycle accident injury, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial or dental injuries
- Road rash
- Broken bones
Our The Villages Bicycle Accident Attorneys Are Ready to Help You Today
The attorneys at our law firm have dedicated our careers to helping Floridians dealing with difficult situations. We want to help you, too. We’ll identify the liable party(s) in your case and hold them liable for the compensation you deserve. We’ll also manage all communications in your case to protect you from insurers who might seek to take advantage of you.
Learn more about what we’ll do for you and your case today. Call Meldon Law for a free consultation: (352) 373-8000.
