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Orange County Bicycle Accident Lawyers

Get Legal Help After Suffering Injuries Because of a Driver

As a bicyclist, you were getting your exercise and doing your part to help the environment when the unexpected happened. Now, you’re hurt and don’t know what to do. Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie may be able to help. When you call our Newport Beach office, we’ll get you set up with a free consultation. If you’re too hurt to visit us, we can come to your bedside. If we can pursue compensation for you, we will do so at no upfront cost. Since 1974, we have been helping Orange County residents and visitors recover after a serious accident. Call our Orange County personal injury attorneys today at (949) 752-7474 and see if we can do the same for you.

How Were You Injured?

Given the lack of a vehicle occupant cage, bicyclists have nothing but a helmet protecting them from other motorists on the road, increasing their likelihood of suffering a serious injury in a collision. Orange County has seen a decided increase in the number of fatal and injury accidents involving bicyclists, even though the county has over 1,000 miles of dedicated bike trails. Injuries we often see include:

The more severe the trauma, the greater the expenses associated with your recovery, including medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. When our personal injury lawyers take your case, the only thing we want you to worry about is healing. We will answer all your questions, and can refer you to medical specialists to meet your needs.

Who Is At Fault?

Identifying what factors caused your bike accident can prove pivotal to your case, and sometimes, more than one party may be liable for your injuries. For example, the motorist who struck you may share fault with a particular city, which failed to properly maintain the roadway. Or perhaps, a stop sign was hidden by foliage, and could have contributed to the accident. A defective part on the bike may mean the manufacturer or bike shop shares the blame. But most bicycle-car collisions are caused by the inattention of the driver. If he or she:

Failed to obey traffic laws
Was distracted by a cellphone
Moved into an intersection unlawfully
Backed out of a driveway or parking space without looking
Didn’t check blind spots before merging or turning
Was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Was making aggressive maneuvers or speeding

Such behavior was negligent, and you have a strong claim for compensation. A major case we handled involved a cyclist who was stuck by a truck approaching from behind, causing a spinal fracture and significant rehabilitation time. We settled for the defendant’s policy limits of $1,150,000.

Our firm takes cases on a contingency fee and that means we only get paid at the end of your case when it is settled. We also advance all costs necessary to prepare your case. If we don't recover for you, you pay no fees.

Need To Know Biking Laws In California

Part of the claim process involves figuring out who was at fault for the accident. California has a comparative negligence law, meaning that so long as you are found to be less than 51% responsible for the accident you can claim damages. But if you are more than half responsible, you will not receive compensation. In order to protect yourself from being accused of being at fault, it is important to know California laws around biking.

Always ride with traffic. Bikes are supposed to go in the same direction as cars on the road normally would. The exceptions to this are when riding down a one-way street, taking a left turn, when roadways are too narrow, or when the right side of the road is sectioned off for construction.
Be sure to use the bike lane. Many roads in California include a bike lane. When one is present it must be used unless you are making a left turn, or the bike lane is too hazardous to travel on safely.
You may “take the lane”, as in drive in the middle of it as a car would, if you are moving slower than traffic and the lane is too narrow to share with a vehicle safely. This is an important law to know, because many drivers, and sometimes even police officers, don’t understand your right to take the lane and may assign you fault where there is none.
You are not allowed to ride your bike on a freeway or highway. They are deemed to be too fast and too dangerous for conventional bikes.
Hitching a ride with a car – meaning you grab on to the back of a car as it moves – is never permitted.
Whether you are allowed to ride your bike on the sidewalk or not is determined by your county or your city. The state of California has no specific laws around riding bikes on sidewalks.

Most drivers assume they know the rules of the road and how to behave around bike riders, but that isn’t always the case. Biking laws can vary a great amount state by state or even county by county. Be sure you know the rules and regulations in your area in order to keep yourself safe physically and legally.

If You Have Questions, Don’t Hesitate to Reach Out

If you have suffered an injury in a bicycle accident in Costa Mesa or elsewhere in Orange County, there are certain steps you should take to maximize your chances of receiving compensation. Firstly, you should contact us as soon as possible, as there is a “statute of limitations” on personal injury claims in California, cutting off your ability to file a claim after two years, except in certain circumstances. At the scene of the accident, if possible, you should:

Contact the police as soon as possible
Obtain medical treatment immediately
Obtain the driver’s name, telephone number, address, vehicle information, and the name of his or her insurance company (if you were struck by an automobile driver)
Obtain the names and contact information of any witnesses
Use your cell phone to take pictures of the scene, damage to your bike, and of your injuries

If you’re missing one of these elements, or if you’re afraid you’re partially at fault for the accident, don’t worry.

Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie has won hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients over the past 40 years. We understand what to do because we’ve handled hundreds of bicycle accidents in Orange County. California has a doctrine called “comparative fault” wherein your amount of fault will diminish your verdict, proportionally. If the jury thinks you were 10% at fault after awarding you $200,000, you would take home $180,000. We always examine a claim for its strengths and weaknesses, and figure out how to get the optimal results. For a free consultation, please call (949) 752-7474 today.

Bicycle Accident Attorneys in Newport Beach

Bicycle accidents often lead to devastating injuries for the people involved. Unfortunately, bicycle accidents are not uncommon in Orange County. Our team at Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie is here to help you if you need a bicycle accident attorney by your side.

Our goal is to carefully study bicycle claims, identify liability, and help our clients recover the potential compensation they deserve.

How Can Our Bicycle Accident Law Firm in Orange County Help You?

Bicycle accident cases in Orange County can be difficult, especially when it comes to identifying liability. Many injury victims don’t have the necessary resources needed to understand their claim. Nonetheless, our bicycle accident lawyers can utilize our legal knowledge, resources, and skills to do the following for you:

Fully prepare to bring the case to trial if needed to ensure our clients are treated fairly.
Engage in good faith negotiations with every party involved to reach a fair settlement.
Ensure the client is assessed by trusted medical professionals who can treat their wounds and injuries and help compute total losses, including future pain and suffering.
Fully investigate the claim and present all evidence that could prove liability, including video or photo surveillance, police reports, and eyewitness statements.