From trails to parks, Gwinnett County offers many opportunities for bicyclists to enjoy the great outdoors. But if your trip crosses paths with a negligent driver, you could be seriously hurt—and the driver might insist they did nothing wrong.
Securing compensation from the insurance company could be challenging when fault is disputed, and you may also struggle with medical bills or lost income.
How Can a Gwinnett County Bicycle Accident Attorney Help?
Bicyclists are at a disadvantage in accidents for multiple reasons.
First, they are much more likely to suffer severe injuries in a collision than a person riding in a car. Bicycles don’t have seatbelts or airbags to keep the rider safe, and many people are ejected from their bikes when struck by a vehicle.
Because bike riders are prone to severe injuries, it’s often hard for them to give a statement to police about the crash. They might be unconscious or simply a little dazed.
Even with the help of bike helmets, head injuries are common and frequently cause symptoms like headaches, confusion, and memory loss. It may be challenging to think clearly or remember what happened while trying to give the officer a coherent statement.
At the same time, the bicyclist sometimes doesn’t see the car that hits them until just before the collision. They might not know all the facts about the accident or have more than a brief recollection of the events.
All of these factors mean that bicyclists are disadvantaged in seeking compensation after an accident. However, a bicycle accident attorney can help you fight back by:
- Building your case. We’ll comprehensively investigate your accident and assemble as much evidence as possible to show how the driver caused the collision.
- Refuting claims that you were at fault. It can be frustrating to learn the driver blames you for the collision, but we will work to show your actions were not the primary cause of the crash.
- Properly valuing your claim. If the insurance company doesn’t succeed in blaming you for the accident, they may instead focus on underpaying your claim. In many cases, the insurance carrier’s first offer is a lowball one that fails to account for all your damages and/or their total value. To many injured people, this initial offer seems fair because it’s difficult to value your own claim if you’re not an expert on insurance. If you receive any offer from an insurance company, we recommend reviewing it with a lawyer before making a decision.
- Negotiating with the insurance company. Even if you recognize that an insurance company’s offer is too low, trying to get more money out of the insurer is still a challenging process. It’s also fraught with pitfalls—if you call the insurance adjuster to explain why you need a larger settlement, they’re unlikely to agree. Instead, they might misinterpret something you say to indicate you were at fault or find an excuse to make you an even lower offer. You can avoid these infuriating situations by letting your lawyer handle negotiations.
Are Bicycles Considered Vehicles in Georgia?
Yes. In most cases, bicycles are subject to the same traffic laws as other vehicles, but there are also some regulations specific to bike riders, including:
- Riders younger than 16 must wear a bicycle helmet. However, you should wear one at any age, even if it isn’t legally required—helmets reduce your risk of head injury in an accident by more than 50 percent. Be sure to choose a helmet that fits your head snugly and replace it whenever you have an accident (even a minor one that didn’t cause you any injuries).
- Carrying packages should not prevent you from keeping at least one hand on the handlebars. The safest option is to put packages in a bike basket so you can keep both hands on the handlebars.
- In most areas, riding a bicycle on sidewalks is prohibited, but some local governments have ordinances that allow it. Be sure to check your local laws before riding on the sidewalk.
- Bicycle riding is banned on most interstates and other controlled-access highways for safety reasons. The high speeds allowed for motor vehicles on interstates would pose an extremely high risk to bikers.
- Riders should stay as close to the right side of the road as possible, except when it isn’t safe or practical—turning left, avoiding hazards, passing a standing vehicle, etc.
- Bicycles used at night should have a white light on the front that can be seen from 300 feet away and a red light on the back visible from 200 feet away. A red reflector approved by the Department of Public Safety can be substituted for the red light on the back.
There are also additional laws for motorists, including Georgia’s 3 Feet Law, which requires drivers to allow three feet of space between their vehicle and a bicycle when passing the bike. It has been recently updated to add that drivers should approach the bike cautiously and move into a lane farther away from the bike if they can do so safely.
If changing lanes isn’t feasible, the driver should slow down to at least 10 miles an hour below the speed limit or 25 MPH, whichever is greater.
What Happens if an Uninsured Driver Hits You on Your Bike?
In many of these situations, your bicycle accident lawyer can still help you seek compensation in one of several ways:
- We can sue the driver. Insured or not, if they were at fault in the accident, they are responsible for your damages. But the downside is that we may not be able to collect your damages if the driver has few or no assets we can seize. For this reason, we may advise against suing the driver if there is no clear path to recovering compensation.
- We can use your uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance (UM/UI). Yes, it does cover bicycle and pedestrian accidents, even though your car was not involved. Additionally, we can also use this coverage if you were the victim of a hit-and-run and the driver can’t be located. (We will, however, try to find the driver first so they can be brought to justice.)
- We’ll consider the possibility of a third-party lawsuit. This is not an option in every bicycle collision, but in some cases, we may find that a third party (someone other than you or the car driver) contributed to the accident. One example would be a restaurant or bar that overserved a clearly intoxicated patron or served a customer who was not of legal drinking age. Another example could be a defective product or component—for instance, a helmet or other safety equipment that failed to live up to industry standards and caused more severe injuries.
What Damages Are Available in a Bicycle Accident Case?
In order to accurately evaluate your claim, we’ll talk to you about the following categories of damages:
- Medical bills: Healthcare costs can add up quickly after a bicycle accident—sometimes, imaging and diagnostic tests alone can cost thousands of dollars. Common injuries include broken bones, head and brain injuries, internal injuries, road rash, back and spine injuries, dislocations, and more. Many of these issues require continued treatment, so we’ll consider your future medical costs as well.
- Lost income: Due to the long recovery time for many injuries associated with bike accidents, you might be out of work for weeks or months, burning through paid time off and then taking unpaid leave. You have a right to seek compensation for both.
- Lost earning potential: As with medical bills, we will also consider the accident’s impact on your future income. If you suffer a permanent disability that affects your ability to work, we may be able to recover damages for lost earning capacity.
- Permanent disability or disfigurement: In addition to affecting your work, a permanent disability can reduce your enjoyment or quality of life.
- Property damage: We can seek compensation for damage to your bicycle and any valuables you were carrying, such as a phone or laptop.
- Pain and suffering: Bicycle accidents can be traumatic, both physically and emotionally. Many people suffer pain from physical injuries for weeks and may even develop chronic pain. Others also have mental health difficulties following the accident, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, or symptoms of PTSD.
- Wrongful death: If you’ve lost a loved one in a bicycle collision, you can seek several kinds of damages, including funeral expenses and final medical bills, loss of financial support, loss of companionship or consortium, and more.
How Many Bicycle Accidents Occur in Gwinnett County Each Year?
Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) shows that Gwinnett County is one of the top five counties in the state for bicycle accidents. In 2019, Gwinnett County had 47 bike crashes involving 48 cyclists, with three of these accidents resulting in serious injury or fatality for the biker.
Overall state data indicates that 78 percent of non-motorist fatalities occurred outside of intersections, and about 86 percent happened in the dark rather than in daylight hours.
Where Can You Get Help From a Gwinnett County Bicycle Accident Law Firm?
Please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation about your case. Our experienced legal team will review the details of your accident, answer your questions, and lay out your options for pursuing a settlement.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm was founded by attorney Ali Awad, who quickly transformed it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. Through his dedication to helping injured people get the compensation they need, he has recovered millions of dollars in damages for his clients.
When he’s not negotiating with insurance companies or fighting for clients in court, he gives no-nonsense legal advice to more than a million followers on social media. Give the CEO Lawyer a call at (470) 323-8779.
