Cycling is such a cheap transport that many people don’t even consider that riding a bicycle has as many legal aspects as driving a car. If you are a cyclist and get in an accident with a car, it is susceptible to many serious injuries. An accident occurred on a bicycle will have many legal aspects to consider should any serious come to the cyclist. This would require you to contact a bicycle accident attorney Miami in order to understand your full legal rights in the case. If you are a cyclist, you should consider the legal aspects of a bicycle accident because studies have shown that cyclist endures much more serious injuries than a truck driver, bike drivers, and car drivers because of the little to no protection your bicycle frame provides you.
What are your legal options in case of an accident?
A cyclist, like any other vehicle driver, will have to have an insurance that will further aid in his claims about an injury or other harms. The law recognizes that cyclists are in a more delicate situation against a car driver. Nonchalant driving on the part of the other party may include cutting other vehicles, speeding up too much or being distracted by being on a phone or any other way. The liability will be established on the basis of faults. If the cyclist himself stands in the wrong, he will not have much to claim. As the same road rules are applied for the cyclist as they are for the car driver. However, if the cyclist is innocent and has suffered from injuries because of the negligence on the motorist’s part, he will have important legal claims to make as a bicycle accident afflicts severe injuries. These injuries can include burns, broken bones, fractures, damaged limbs, and brain injuries. Many injuries afflicted on the head can result in memory loss and hemorrhage. Severe spinal cord damage may result in paralysis. These common but serious injuries require you to file a lawsuit that will hold the motorist responsible.
Types of potential lawsuits
There are two types of the lawsuit that you would have to consider depending on the situation of the accident and the outcomes it caused.
Negligence
Negligence lawsuits mean negligence on the part of the motorist. This negligence can be shown in various ways such as being on the phone, showing evident road rage, neglecting the traffic lights or the signs, overspeeding or driving while being drunk. In any such situation, the blame will be taken by the motorist.
Product liability
This type of lawsuit is filed when the bicycle defects. The common defects include faulty wheels or in the frame. However, in such a case the cyclist should not consider repairing the bicycle instantly because he would need to show it as evidence. There are three further types of product liability in a bicycle accident. These are a design defect, manufacturing defect or no warning by the seller. In the last case, if the customer has not been warned of the cycle’s defects, the seller can be held liable. Another type of product liability cases can include strict liability. This type makes the seller or manufacturer responsible for indirectly causing harm to the cyclist. The cyclist can even sue the distributor.
However, if the cyclist wants the matter settled outside the court, he can contact the driver’s insurance company. In this case, the situation will be resolved on the basis of negligence. The company will try to ensure the person at fault and to what extent the damage has been caused by that party. If they do not support evidence, the last resort will be taking one of the two lawsuits. The court can seem like an overwhelming option to handle on your own which is why you should hire a law expert, bicycle attorney to settle the case. Also, if you will be contacting an attorney, it is best that you keep the driver and his insurance company out of this.