What Should You Do After a Bicycle Accident?

How you handle the aftermath of a bicycle accident matters in regard to your health and the strength of your future personal injury claim.

Summary

• Understanding what to do after a bicycle accident leaves you with significant damages can benefit your personal injury claim later on.
• After a bicycle accident, staying at the scene until the police arrive is often necessary so you can file a police report, which serves as evidence.
• Collecting evidence at the scene, including photos and witness information, can help establish liability for the bicycle accident.
• Documenting everything you remember about your Florida bicycle accident is essential for building a strong case with your personal injury attorney.
• Seeking medical attention for injuries, keeping a record of evidence, and hiring a bicycle accident lawyer are vital steps in pursuing compensation for damages.

Bicycle accidents can result from the negligence of bicyclists or motor vehicle drivers. Their negligence, which could be acts such as distracted driving, speeding, and road rage, can expose a cyclist to harm. 

Direct blows from large vehicles, collisions with hard objects, and falling off a bicycle can all cause severe injuries. Following a bicycle accident, you may not know how to handle yourself when the financial and physical realities of the traumatic event set in. 

You can take certain steps to put yourself in a position to receive compensation for damages caused by the at-fault party and recover from your severe bicycle accident injuries. The experienced Florida bicycle accident lawyers at Jones Law Group can help you seek compensation.

Our skilled team is here to assist you with evidence collection, damage calculation, and settlement negotiations. We encourage you to schedule a free consultation with us by calling (727) 571-1333 or reaching out through our contact form.

Remain at the Scene of the Bicycle Accident and Wait for the Police

Following a bicycle accident, you may feel like you should leave the scene to collect yourself or receive medical attention. While going to the hospital will be necessary later, you should stay at the scene of the bicycle accident until the police arrive unless you suffered a catastrophic injury that requires immediate medical attention.

In most states, bicycle, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, and car accidents require those involved to remain at the scene, call 911, and wait for a responding officer to arrive. They will hear about what happened from all involved, speak to witnesses, and assess physical clues. They will file a police report that both parties can access as evidence later on.

Collect Evidence at the Scene of the Bicycle Accident

While you wait for the police to arrive, you should do all you can to collect evidence at the scene after a bicycle accident. Everyone has a smartphone nowadays that can come in handy for collecting evidence because of its camera capabilities. 

By taking videos and pictures of the bicycle accident scene, you can prove any accusations you make regarding the negligence of the at-fault party. For example, let’s say your bicycle accident involved a speeding driver going around a turn too fast and hitting you. 

This is one of the most common causes of Florida bicycle accidents. The driver most likely left skid marks due to the speed they were going around the corner. Take a picture of the skid marks to prove the at-fault party’s liability.

The following is some of the evidence you could collect at the scene of the bicycle accident:

• Property damage to your bicycle
• Your severe injuries
• Skid marks
• Traffic control signals
• Stop signs
• Witness information

Document Everything You Can Remember From the Bicycle Accident

At some point after the bicycle accident, try to jot down what you remember about how the bicycle accident happened. These details will be important as you build the case for the at-fault party’s liability with your bicycle accident lawyer. 

You cannot get these details confused or have conflicting stories about what happened. Otherwise, you risk hurting your personal injury claim and interfering with your ability to recover bicycle accident damages. After your bicycle accident, sit down and write everything you can remember about the incident. 

This can include where it happened, what time it was, what the at-fault party did to cause the accident, and what happened after the accident. You can even try to make notes in the immediate aftermath of the bicycle accident on your phone.

Receive Medical Attention for Bike Accident Injuries

After the responding officer collects evidence for the police report, head to the hospital to get checked out for injuries. You should go to the hospital even if you feel you did not suffer a severe injury because you may have delayed symptoms. 

This is when you feel fine because the symptoms of your severe injury may not appear until later. A healthcare professional can use diagnostic testing and a physical examination to determine whether you suffered a serious injury. They can begin your treatment to heal your severe injury and ensure it doesn’t get worse. 

Going to the hospital after a bike accident can also help you pursue compensation. The record of your visit on the day of the incident can help prove the severity of your injury.

The following are some of the severe bicycle accident injuries you could receive medical attention for at the hospital:

• Spinal cord injury
• Facial injury
• Chest injury
• Whiplash
• Knee injury
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Back and neck injury
• Internal injury
• Broken bones
• Shoulder injury
• Crush injuries

Keep Track of Evidence That Can Help Prove Your Personal Injury Case

Collecting evidence at the scene of the bicycle accident is important, but it’s also essential to gather additional collect evidence. This evidence can help prove the at-fault party’s liability and show that you suffered severe injuries. It can also establish that you were not partially responsible for your personal injury accident.

Some evidence that can help with the personal injury claims process includes medical records, police reports, insurance statements, witness statements, expert witness testimonies, and hospital bills. A bicycle accident lawyer can help you with the process of collecting evidence and proving the at-fault party’s liability.

Hire a Florida Bicycle Accident Lawyer

One of the most important steps in the bicycle accident process is hiring a personal injury lawyer to represent you. Although there are certain steps you can take care of yourself, you likely do not have the experience necessary to do everything independently. 

You may make a mistake that can hurt your ability to recover full compensation for your damages. A bicycle accident lawyer can use their experience to maximize your ability to recover compensation for damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. 

Some of the ways they can help with the personal injury claims process are by assessing the true cost of your damages, determining the liable party, explaining your rights, and representing you in court. They can also help you negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company.

Most insurers will try everything in their power to keep their profits up. Unfortunately, that means they will attempt to deny, delay, or devalue your claim. They can do this by refusing to respond to correspondence, offering intentionally low offers, or using insurance adjusters to find information that can hurt your case. 

An experienced bicycle accident lawyer will see through these transparent attempts to limit your settlement. They can use their expertise to ensure you recover a fair settlement. If a settlement cannot be reached, they can craft a sound legal strategy for a court case.

Contact Jones Law Group for Help With Your Bicycle Accident Claim

At Jones Law Group, our capable accident injury lawyers have decades of proven experience helping personal injury victims recover compensation for damages. We have Florida bicycle accident attorneys with local knowledge who can power your legal strategy

Our team will focus on building a case that puts you in the best position to recover compensation for damages. We understand the trauma caused by a bicycle accident and we want to help you seek compensation for damages while you focus on your recovery.

At Jones Law Group, we offer free consultations to bicycle accident victims to show them how our personal injury lawyers can apply that experience to help them recover compensation for damages. We encourage you to schedule a free consultation with us by calling (727) 571-1333 or using our contact form.