Virginia Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Our Virginia Bike Accident Lawyers Can Help

Virginia is host to two transcontinental bike routes, the 76 and the 1, which intersect north of Richmond. The state of Virginia is also always clearing the way for new bike trails, allowing cyclists to move throughout the state. While this is overall great news for Virginian cyclists, this also means Virginia sees many bicycle accidents.

Bike accidents can lead to severe injuries. If you or a loved one was injured in a bicycle crash in Virginia, you need to retain legal counsel as soon as possible. At Regan Zambri Long, our experienced Virginia bicycle accident attorneys can help you obtain justice and hold the right parties accountable.

How Can a Virginia Bike Accident Lawyer Help My Case?

If you were injured in a bike accident, you may believe you do not need to work with an attorney. You may think the severity of your injuries is obvious, and the negligence on the part of the other person is clear. However, an injury claim will almost always have complications, and you will be going up against insurance companies and other parties who are highly invested in denying your claim. A bike accident attorney will have the experience and resources you need to hold negligent parties responsible and fight for the compensation you deserve.

Insurance companies will want to pay out as little as possible, and negotiating with these companies on your own can be near impossible. Your bike crash attorney can help protect your rights and teach you how to best discuss your accident with investigators. A lawyer knows what you need to avoid saying to preserve the integrity of your case.

Our Virginia personal injury lawyers have extensive experience in representing injured cyclists throughout the state of Virginia. We can keep you informed throughout the process and help ease the stress of navigating the legal system while you recover.

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Get Legal Help for Your Virginia Bicycle Accident

Additionally, injuries from bicycling accidents can lead to a lifetime of medical issues. An attorney will have the knowledge you need to calculate the money you require to cover pain, suffering, and medical bills for past, present, and future issues.

Our team of legal professionals can guide you through the process of filing a bicycle accident claim. With our experience in representing injured cyclists, we can fight for the compensation you deserve while taking the stress of your case off your shoulders. You can take the time you need to recover, resting assured in the knowledge that your case is in good hands.

bike struck by car with loose helmet on road

Common Causes of Bike Accidents in Virginia

Many bicycle accidents in Virginia are caused by collisions with motor vehicles. Often, the reasons behind these crashes are the same as in any typical car accident. However, cyclists can find themselves facing unique accident risks. In 2021, Virginia saw 544 bike accidents that involved cars, and 16 fatal bike accidents.

Bike crashes are often caused by:

Door Swipes – A parked or stopped driver may open their door into the path of a passing cyclist, causing the cyclist to collide with the door.
Drunk or distracted driving – A driver impaired by alcohol or otherwise distracted may unknowingly drift onto the shoulder or miss a cyclist signaling a turn. The driver can then swerve and side-swipe a cyclist.
Failure to yield – Car drivers may make the mistake of considering bicyclists as pedestrians when it comes to yield laws. Drivers may also otherwise make careless mistakes in signaling a turn or using a roundabout.
Aggressive driving – Sometimes, drivers will become aggressive around cyclists, either due to a perceived slight by the cyclist or a strong belief against sharing the road. Drivers may sometimes intentionally run cyclists off the road.
Hazardous road conditions – Poor visibility, broken signals, and uneven pavement can all make the road unsafe for cyclists. If a government agency is responsible for maintaining safe roads, a bike accident claim may involve said government agency.
Fault in the bike itself – Not all bike accidents directly involve crashes with vehicles, pedestrians, or other bikes. Sometimes the bike itself is faulty, which could lead to a product liability claim.

Injuries Frequently Seen in Bicycle Accidents

When a bike collides with a motor vehicle or vice versa, the forces involved can lead to serious injuries. Bikes themselves offer little to no physical protection, and even helmets cannot completely protect a rider.

Some commonly seen injuries in a bike accident include:

Road rash, scrapes, and lacerations – If you are thrown from your bike or otherwise skid after impact, your skin will be scraped along the surface of the road, causing road rash. You may also experience other scrapes and deep lacerations from the initial collision and the resulting fall.
Bone breaks and fractures – You may suffer from fractures or breaks to your wrists, forearms, or clavicle when you brace yourself after a crash with a car. Hip and rib fractures are also common in biking accidents.
Dislocated joints, muscle strains, and sprains – Collisions with motor vehicles can result in one or more of your limbs getting pulled or twisted beyond their capability for motion, leading to sprains or strains in the muscles.
Spinal cord injuries – A bike crash can result in injuries to your vertebrae and herniation of the soft discs between vertebrae, which can further lead to damage to the spinal cord. Severe spinal cord damage can result in partial or full paralysis.
Internal organ injuries – While these injuries may not be immediately apparent, a collision with a vehicle can result in internal bruising, bleeding, and organ damage.
Traumatic brain injuries – Even with a helmet, you may experience head trauma that results in mild to severe brain injury.

What to Do if You Are Hit on a Bike in Virginia

If you have been involved in a bicycle accident, you need to take the following steps:

Seek medical attention as soon as possible – Even if you feel fine after the accident, your injuries can take hours or days to appear. Seeking medical attention means you can document your injuries and directly prove your accident led to said injuries.
Document evidence at the scene – When possible, you should take photos and write down the facts at the scene. Gather information on the names, addresses, and insurance info for all parties involved, as well as the make, model, and license plates of any involved vehicles. Get pictures of your bike, the involved cars, and your injuries. If you are unable to obtain this information, you and your attorney can get most of this in the police report later.
Contact an attorney – The sooner you reach out to a bicycle accident lawyer, the sooner your attorney can get started on preserving critical evidence in your case. Your lawyer can work to determine liability and calculate your potential recoverable damages.

You may be contacted by the insurance company or companies of the negligent parties after your accident. These companies may request a recorded statement from you. If you are contacted, you must decline the offer to provide a recorded statement until you speak to an attorney.

Insurance companies will do whatever possible to get you to admit liability on your part, thus reducing your potential claim. In addition, an insurance company may offer a lump sum for your case that will not fully cover your injuries.

The Statute of Limitations for Bicycle Accidents in Virginia

The state of Virginia provides a two-year statute of limitation for all personal injury claims, including bicycle accidents. This means that as the victim of a bike accident, you have two years from the date of your accident to file your claim. However, even if you are still within this period of two years, it is important to reach out to an attorney as quickly as possible.

How a Bike Lawyer Can Prove Liability in a Bicycle Crash

Any motor vehicle driver involved in an accident can be held liable in a bike accident case that involves a vehicle collision. In the case of a product defect, manufacturers, repair companies, and even bike renting companies can be held responsible for a bike accident.

In both cases involving motor vehicle crashes and defective products, injured cyclists bear the burden of proving the other party’s negligence caused the accident. Defendants and their insurance carriers will try to shift the blame onto you as the victim to reduce or avoid paying damages. These parties may have extensive resources available to try and prove your negligence in the accident. They may claim you were violating traffic laws, signaling improperly, or even riding a bike under the influence.

An experienced bicycle accident lawyer will know the common tactics used by defendants to avoid responsibility and how to counteract them.

In your bike accident case, your attorney can use the following as evidence proving negligence on behalf of the other party or parties involved:

Photos and video of the accident scene
Eyewitnesses
Police and medical reports
Expert testimony

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Damages You Can Recover in a Bike Accident Lawsuit

You may wonder how much you will be able to recover in compensation for your bicycle accident.

Damages can vary widely in a bike accident case, and are dependent on the following factors:

Injury severity
Liability on the part of at-fault parties
Your liability

Your attorney will be best able to help calculate the compensation you are entitled to, working with financial and medical experts to evaluate your case.

Compensation in your bike accident case can cover the following costs:

Current medical expenses – Includes ambulance services, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and other treatments
Wages – Covers immediate wages lost from missing work as well as future lost wages for ongoing recovery
Future medical expenses – If your accident resulted in a long-term disability or other long-term injury, you can get compensation for repeat surgeries, rehabilitation, and physical therapy
Earning capacity – Your injury may have resulted in a permanent disability or otherwise forced a career change, leading to a loss in your earning capacity
Emotional distress – Bike accidents can result in post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues
Wrongful death – If your loved one was killed in a bike accident, you may be eligible for a wrongful death claim

Understanding Bicycle Law in Northern Virginia

The Virginia Department of Transportation establishes several legal rights and responsibilities for Virginian cyclists.

Under Virginian biking law, cyclists are required to:

Follow all motor vehicle laws when in traffic lanes
Follow all the duties of a pedestrian when riding on the sidewalk
Yield right of way to pedestrians on the sidewalk and give a clear signal when passing pedestrians
Give clear signals to other bikes and motor vehicles when turning or stopping
Come to a complete stop at stop signs or signals before entering a crosswalk
Have at least one hand on their handlebars at all times

In addition, Virginia establishes the following rights and prohibitions for cyclists:

Cyclists in traffic lanes have the same rights as motor vehicle drivers unless otherwise indicated
Cyclists are not required to come to a complete stop when crossing highways that do not have stop signs or traffic signals
Helmets are not required under Virginian state law, though many counties and cities require helmets for riders under 14
Cyclists cannot carry more passengers than their bikes can accommodate
Cyclists cannot cling or otherwise attach themselves to moving vehicles
Cyclists must have at least one earphone or headphone out when riding

Cyclists in traffic lanes must ride in the direction of the flow of traffic as closely as possible and, where practical, stick to the right side of the roadway.

Contact the Virginia Bike Injury Attorneys at Regan Zambri Long

Even cyclists who obey all the rules of the road and take every possible precaution can sustain life-changing injuries in a bike accident. Insurance payouts are often not enough to repay accumulated medical bills and other losses as a result of an accident.

At Regan Zambri Long, our skilled attorneys for bicycle accidents can give you the peace of mind you need to focus on your recovery. If you or a loved one was injured in a bicycle accident, call Regan Zambri Long today. We handle bicycle accident cases throughout Maryland, Virginia, and the greater DC Metro area.

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Have you or your loved one sustained injuries in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia? Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the best lawyers in the country to analyze your case and answer the questions you may have.

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