Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney - When You Need One

By Author: Dietrich Elliot
Total Articles: 16
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Every day thousands of bikes cross the streets and bike paths of Los Angeles. Here in sunny California, people bike both for exercise and as a means of transportation. In a county with poor public transit, if you can't afford a car, sometimes a bike is the best alternative. But biking has its downside here in Los Angeles. It's not a bike-friendly town with bike paths being a relatively recent innovation. But drivers here are not in the habit of watching for bikers either. Subsequently, serious Bike Accidents in Los Angeles - collisions between bikes and cars - has become an all-too frequent tragedy here.

Any Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney is all too familiar with the aftermath of such Bike Accidents. When car and bicycle collide, the bicyclist gets the worst end of the deal. Unprotected by anything but a helmet, a bicyclist's injuries can be terrible and have a long-lasting impact on their lives. Who is at fault when a car and a bicycle collide? Sometimes that's difficult to say. Was the driver negligent? Inattentive? Did the bicyclist take a chance ...
... he or she shouldn't have? Was the bicyclist following the law? These kinds of questions are best sorted out by Bike Accident Attorneys in Los Angeles who know the law and can sort out blame. Insurance companies (generally policies of the car's driver) will attempt to settle a claim without a Personal Injury Attorney present. But be aware, if you are involved in such a Bike Accident in Los Angeles, only an experienced Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney can help you get compensated fairly for the medical bills and continuing therapy you may require after such an accident.

This being the Big City moving vehicles are not the only culprits causing Los Angeles Bike Accidents. Potholes, sidewalk cracks, and poor road conditions are frequently to blame for Bike Accidents in which riders are thrown from their bikes. Municipalities like Los Angeles are responsible for keeping bike paths safe and free of hazards. This kind of Bike Accident can also be devastating even with a helmet. A helmet cannot protect your spine or your bones from injury and all too often, these over-the-handlebar-type Bike Accidents result terrible injuries. Even following the law cannot always protect you from Bike Accidents. Like a chess player, bike riders must think three or four moves ahead when they're on their bikes, navigating the city streets of Los Angeles. Stopping at a red light next to a large vehicle such as a semi-tractor trailer can prove fatal. A bicyclist in Westwood was killed when the truck rolled right over him by turning right. The truck driver didn't even see the bike.

Lisa Jory was riding with her husband as she always did on Saturdays on a popular bike path down a busy street in Santa Monica, a West Los Angeles social hub. She was wearing the helmet she'd always instructed her children to wear. She was following the law. But when a parked driver opened his door right in front of her there was no way she could avoid a Bike Accident. She was thrown over the handlebars of her bike and landed on her head. Her helmet took the major force of the blow and shattered. Her head took the rest. For the year that it took her to recover from that Bike Accident, she spent most of her days in therapy, relearning her life. Lisa's brain injury eventually healed, but not before she lost much of her memory and the precious time with her children. Her husband hired a Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney who was himself a bicyclist. They learned that this type of accident is very common in Los Angeles. Even though she was following the law by riding as far to the right as possible, she was still involved in an accident by a driver who didn't see her. Lisa's Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney earned her a significant settlement that covered her medical expenses and her pain and suffering.

So why do you need a Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney? First, you must protect your rights. If you suffer a damaging injury it could not only put you out of work, it could put your family income in jeopardy. There will be medical bills and pain and suffering. Insurance companies do not have your best interests at heart. They have the bottom line in mind. An experienced Bike Accident Attorney in Los Angeles will generally work on contingency, meaning that nothing will be required of you out of pocket until the case settles, then the Bike Accident Attorney will take his fee from the settlement. An experienced Bike Accident Attorney understands the ins and outs of Bike Accident law and can fairly represent you, take the worry off your back and give your family peace of mind at a time when the focus should be solely on your healing. So if you have had a Bike Accident, don't delay in contacting an experienced Los Angeles Bike Accident Attorney. He will get the best resolution for your case and will protect what your bike helmet didn't - your future.

Author Bio:

Dietrich Elliot is a freelance writer, teacher and retired Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney. He writes about Personal Injury Law as it pertains to Los Angeles, the city in which he lives. You can contact Mr. Elliot by emailing him at: DietrichElliot@aol.com.