St. Petersburg Bicycle Accident Lawyer

St. Petersburg invests heavily in bicycle friendliness, with plenty of bicycle lanes, bike routes through the city, and a host of convenient bike trails where riders can enjoy their rides in the great outdoors. Despite that great infrastructure, however, many drivers do not exercise the caution needed for bike riders to safely share the roads. Bicycle accidents may result in severe injuries, including broken bones, brain injuries, and severe road rash. If you suffered injuries in a bicycle wreck due to the negligence of a driver or other party, a skilled personal injury attorney could help you seek the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Contact a St. Petersburg bicycle accident lawyer to learn more about your right to financial recovery.

Perenich Law Injury Attorneys Can Help After Your St. Petersburg Bicycle Accident

After suffering severe injuries in a St. Petersburg bicycle accident, you may need an experienced lawyer’s help to pursue compensation for your injuries. At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we help bicycle accident victims and seriously injured parties throughout the St. Petersburg area learn more about their rights, support them through their claims, and provide them with the information they need to make effective decisions about the compensation they deserve. We feel passionate about helping victims who have sustained severe injuries due to the negligence of another party protect their rights and understand what they may deserve in compensation for their injuries.

We can help establish liability for your St. Petersburg bicycle crash.

Determining liability for a bicycle accident can prove essential to your bicycle accident claim. If you suffered injuries due to another party’s negligence, you need to know who and what caused the accident. The right evidence can help you. At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we collect witness statements, work with our clients to get a full picture of what led to the accident based on their memories, and even bring in expert witnesses who can help recreate the bicycle accident scene. This can help bicycle collision victims maximize the odds that they will get the full compensation they deserve for their injuries.

We help our clients calculate their financial losses.

To recover compensation for your injuries, you need to know how much compensation you deserve. Insurance companies often assume, following a bicycle accident in St. Petersburg, that the victim does not know how much compensation he deserves and may even accept a low settlement offer. At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we help our clients calculate the damages they have sustained as a direct result of their accidents and their injuries, which can help them determine how much compensation they really deserve. In many cases, we can help identify areas of compensation our clients may not have considered ahead of time, which can help them maximize the compensation they can recover.

We help our clients deal with their insurance company interactions more effectively.

Many bicycle accident victims find dealing with the insurance company one of the most stressful parts of a bicycle accident claim. Insurance companies may try to limit the compensation they pay to bicycle accident victims. At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we help our clients navigate those challenges and deal with potential issues raised by the insurance company so that they can maximize their compensation as much as possible.

Common St. Petersburg Bicycle Crash Injuries and the Limitations They May Pose

Bicycle accidents with vehicles frequently involve severe injury for the bicycle rider. Not only do bicycles offer no protection from the road or the vehicle, but they may also cause more severe injuries if the rider gets tangled in the bicycle during the collision. The aftermath of a bicycle accident can mean substantial limitations, many of which the victim may have to contend with for the rest of their life.

Back and Neck Injuries

Frequently, bicycle accidents mean severe injuries to the back and neck. Herniated discs may mean ongoing pain or the need for surgery for the victim, while muscle damage may make it difficult for the bicycle rider to enjoy many activities, including cycling. In severe cases, victims may suffer from spinal cord injuries, which may mean permanent mobility challenges for the victim.

Head Injuries

Wearing a helmet while biking can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 74 to 85 percent in a bicycle accident. However, even if you have a helmet on at the time of your accident, you can still suffer a serious head injury. Traumatic brain injury can make it difficult to focus, concentrate, or remember material presented to you only moments before. Some victims struggle with emotional control following a brain injury. Even minor concussions can make it difficult to go back to work or participate in activities you enjoy. Many people with even minor head injuries can have symptoms more than a year after the initial accident, while more serious symptoms can prove lifelong.

Amputations

Depending on the severity of a bicycle accident, some victims end up requiring limb amputations. Limb amputation means that the victim permanently loses the function of the injured limb. While many accident victims use prosthetics to make it easier for them to get around or maintain independence after the accident, prosthetics may not fully restore normal appearance and movement, and many bicycle riders face ongoing limitations on the activities they can enjoy because of their injuries.

Broken Bones

Bicycle accidents can severely break bones, particularly if the rider gets tangled in the bike and cannot control the fall. Broken bones can mean a host of challenges and limitations, including difficulty managing self-care tasks or difficulty managing the activities that the victim usually enjoys. Some broken bones may require surgery, which can extend the victim’s recovery. In other cases, victims with broken bones may have to go through extensive physical therapy.

Road Rash

Bicycle accidents often result in road rash as the victim gets dragged across the pavement. Road rash, also known as a severe friction burn, scrapes away the skin and underlying tissue. Many riders require skin grafts following a bicycle accident. Road rash may also carry with it a high risk of infection and a significant chance of scarring, which many victims find incredibly difficult to deal with.

How Much Compensation Can You Recover After a St. Petersburg Bicycle Accident?

For many St. Petersburg bike wreck victims, determining how much compensation they can recover for their injuries may prove critical. When you sustain serious injuries, you need that compensation for your medical costs.

How much can you expect?

At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we cannot guarantee the compensation you will eventually recover for your bicycle accident injuries since each claim may look different. However, we look at the medical costs related to our clients’ accidents so they can get a better idea of the compensation they deserve. Compensation for bicycle accident injuries often breaks down into these basic categories.

Compensation for Your Medical Costs

Dealing with the medical costs associated with a bicycle accident can mean immense financial challenges. Immediately after your accident, you may end up in the emergency room, where you may receive extensive evaluation and treatment. Then, you may end up in the hospital for quite some time, potentially including ongoing medical procedures. You may need to go through physical therapy. While recovering, you may need in-home medical care. The cost of those medical bills may continue to add up. Keep track of all your medical costs, including any ongoing bills or durable medical equipment that you may need to aid in your recovery. A knowledgeable St. Petersburg bicycle accident attorney can help you calculate the full value of those medical expenses, including any costs that you need to include as part of the claim.

Coverage for Lost Wages

Many bicycle collisions in St. Petersburg mean a hit to the victim’s income at the same time as the victim has those heavy medical bills coming in. Frequently, bicycle accident victims have to remain out of work while they recover. If they work in active professions, including construction or warehousing, bicycle accident victims may need to remain out of work until they recover completely, which can mean an even heavier hit to their income. Even if you can go back to work, you may find yourself missing time at work to deal with follow-up appointments and therapy or dropping down to part-time hours when you first return because of the limitations posed by your injuries and your recovery. All those lost wages can add up significantly over time. Talk to your lawyer about how to include them as part of your bicycle accident claim.

Pain and Suffering Damages

In many cases, bicycle accident claims will include compensation for the pain and suffering you faced after your accident: the non-economic, but no less frustrating, losses that often go along with severe injuries. Talk to your lawyer about the impact your bicycle accident has had on your life. Have you been forced to miss out on activities that you usually enjoy, including the stress relief or exercise that often goes along with regular biking? Have you had a hard time with the need to ask others for help with basic self-care tasks? Your lawyer can help you determine how to include those losses as part of your claim.

Who Bears Liability in St. Petersburg Bicycle Accidents?

To determine liability in a bicycle accident, both your lawyer and the other party’s insurance company may have to look at how the accident occurred. Your lawyer may, for example, uncover that the liable driver caused the accident by speeding, failing to look before turning, or simply failing to allow you adequate room in a bicycle lane. Driver distraction can also quickly increase the odds of a bicycle accident. In some cases, your diligent bicycle accident lawyer in St. Petersburg may uncover outside factors that contributed to the bicycle accident. For example, if a driver on the clock injured you and your lawyer sees that the driver’s employer has policies that encourage the driver to speed or drive recklessly to hit deadlines, the employer may bear liability for the accident. Likewise, if a mechanical failure caused the accident, your St. Petersburg bike crash attorney may uncover evidence that the vehicle’s manufacturer also shares liability for the accident. Did you have a bicycle accident because your bicycle failed? You may discover that the manufacturer of your bicycle bears partial liability for the accident or that a mechanic or bike shop that recently worked on it and failed to complete repairs properly shares part of the liability for the incident. The other driver’s insurance company may attempt to prove that you caused or contributed to the bicycle accident. However, a lawyer can establish that you stayed within the law as you rode your bike and that the other party’s negligent actions caused the accident.

If the Driver’s Insurance Company Offers a Settlement After a Bicycle Wreck, Should I Take It?

Carefully consider any settlement offer issued by the insurance company before accepting it, especially if the offer comes before you have the chance to talk to a lawyer and discuss the settlement you really deserve. Insurance companies often issue low settlement offers to accident victims, including bicycle accident victims. If you accept that offer, it may relieve the insurance company of future financial liability and prevent you from obtaining the compensation you really deserve for your bicycle accident injuries.

Do You Need a St. Petersburg Bicycle Accident Attorney?

Yes, If you suffered injuries in a bicycle crash caused by someone else’s negligence, Perenich Law Injury Attorneys can help. Contact us today for your free consultation with a St. Petersburg bicycle accident lawyer.