Long Beach, California, is a beach community and a popular destination for vacationers. Cars and bicyclists share Long Beach’s busy roads. While the city is working to reduce bicycle accidents, unfortunately, they still occur.
When you are involved in a bicycle accident, the damages you sustain are likely to be significant, affecting your physical, emotional, and financial well-being. To reach maximum recovery and maintain financial stability, you need a settlement to cover your needs. A Long Beach bicycle accident lawyer from Simmrin Law Group is here to help you secure a substantial personal injury settlement.
Long Beach Bicycle Accidents
California has seen a rise in bike-sharing programs and the number of cyclists who ride for fitness or to protect the environment. Unfortunately, bicycle accidents have risen along with these positive increases.
During a recent two-year period, more cyclists died in California than in any three-year period over the last 25 years. According to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported by California Healthline, 455 California cyclists were killed in traffic accidents, representing a rate of 3.9 fatalities per million people, which is higher than that national rate of 2.6. In this report, Los Angeles topped the list for fatalities per county.
While Long Beach is committed to improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, certain intersections and corridors are prone to accidents resulting in “high injury,” according to Go Active LB. During a recent four-year span, bicycle accidents accounted for 6% of all traffic accidents in Long Beach and represented 12% of accidents causing serious injury or death.
For a free legal consultation with a bicycle accidents lawyer serving Long Beach, call (626) 709-2523
Reasons for Bicycle Accidents in Long Beach
A study by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigating bicycle accidents and remedies shows many accidents are caused by:
- Lack of visibility: vehicle operators cannot see, or are not actively looking for, road-sharing cyclists
- Lack of bicycle lanes
- High speeds in areas traveled by both vehicles and cyclists
- Poor road conditions
- Inadequate traffic signaling at intersections
Additionally, rates of distracted driving have risen with the use of smartphones and other technologies, putting bicyclists and others on the road at risk.
Long Beach Bicycle Accident Lawyer Near Me (626) 709-2523
Why Bicycle Accidents Are So Dangerous
Bike riders have almost no protection upon collision with a vehicle, road obstacle, or the road itself. There are no seatbelts, airbags, or car bodies to absorb the impact. Hits at any speed can cause damage, but California Healthline reports “mid-block” collisions, which occur in areas between intersections, are most deadly as the vehicles involved are traveling faster.
For a recent year of data collection, the National Safety Council (NSC) reported 1,260 bicycle accident deaths and 325,173 non-fatal injuries. Of these non-fatal bicycle accident injuries, 80,000 were to the head, typically causing brain trauma. Helmets significantly reduce the risk of head injury and brain injury but are still not foolproof and can only offer so much protection when collisions are high-impact.
Bicycle accidents often cause:
- Concussion
- Major brain injuries affecting long-term cognition and body function
- Broken bones and teeth
- Road rash and lacerations
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, potentially causing partial or full paralysis
California’s Helmet Laws
California law only requires riders under the age of 18 to wear a helmet. For those 18 and older, helmets are optional.
If you are not wearing a helmet and sustain a head or brain injury, the at-fault party can claim you are at least partially responsible for those injuries. However, your decision to forego a helmet does not mean you caused the accident, and a bicycle accident attorney in Long Beach can still help you secure compensation.
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A Long Beach Bicycle Accident Lawyer Can Help You Secure Compensation
If you are in a bicycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation for your injuries and losses, and a Long Beach bicycle accident attorney can help you get the bicycle accident settlement you need. The California statute of limitations for filing your personal injury claim is two years, so it is important to connect with an attorney promptly after the incident.
California operates under a pure comparative fault system, which means you can file for damages no matter how much fault you hold for the accident. However, the compensation you can collect is reduced according to your percentage of fault. To ensure your case is as strong as possible and protect your settlement from unfair reductions, have an experienced bicycle accident lawyer in Long Beach manage your case.
Building Your Case
Your attorney will examine your case thoroughly, consulting with accident reconstructionists and other experts to determine what happened and who to hold accountable. The at-fault party may be a negligent driver, a government entity that failed to maintain safe roads, or a bike or helmet manufacturer who produced a faulty product.
Once the at-fault party or parties are identified, your bicycle accident lawyer will gather evidence to prove their negligence caused your accident. Evidence can come from witnesses, photos or video from traffic and safety cameras, medical reports, and physical evidence from the accident scene itself, among other sources.
Protecting Your Settlement
Since the-at fault party can see a reduced payout if you are assigned fault for the accident, their insurance company will work hard to inflate your level of blame. They may misrepresent accident details or twist your words into admissions of fault. Protect yourself from these and other tactics by having your lawyer handle all communication with the at-fault party’s representatives.
What You Can Collect
Bicycle accident victims can seek both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover medical costs, lost wages, property damage, and any other financial loss or expense the accident causes. Since bicycle accident injuries can be serious, even catastrophic, victims often seek coverage for future medical care and lost potential income.
Emotional distress, physical pain, and loss of quality of life are covered through non-economic damages. Your lawyer will consider your non-economic losses with compassion and demand an appropriate financial acknowledgment.
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Talk to Us Today – We Are Ready to Fight for You
When you are hurt by someone else’s negligence, that person needs to cover your medical costs, financial losses, and account for the suffering their actions have caused. Simmrin Law Group is ready to fight for the settlement you need to recover.
Visit our contact page to connect with a skilled Long Beach bicycle accident lawyer. We are so confident in our ability to prove the cases we take that we do not require any payments until your settlement is secured.
Call or text (626) 709-2523 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form