Bicyclists often experience serious injuries when they are involved in an accident with a vehicle. Bicycle accident victims deserve compensation from the negligent driver who injured them.
Fortunately, a skilled Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyer can help victims recover damages for their injuries after a bicycle accident. Before speaking to an attorney, you can take a few steps to help your case later. This includes reporting your accident to the police and receiving medical care. This evidence will prove critical if a driver needs to be identified so that a lawsuit can be filed against them. Further, victims can recover compensation in most cases, even if they were partially responsible for an accident.
If you were recently injured in a bicycle accident, our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers can help you get the justice you deserve for your injuries. Call Howe Law today at (844) 876-4357 for a free assessment of your case.
What to Do After a Bicycle Accident in Johns Creek, GA
Bicycle accident victims can take several steps to help their case immediately after a bicycle accident in Montclair. Calling the police and receiving medical treatment are the first steps on your road to recovering compensation. Once you have received medical care, our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers can evaluate your case and pursue the compensation that re entitled to.
Call the Police
Bicycle accident victims should always call the police after being injured by a negligent driver in Johns Creek. Even if the driver stops to help and offers their insurance information, police should still be called to the scene. The investigating officer will make a report of your accident, which includes important details about the accident’s events and potential causes. Police reports often play a crucial role in a lawsuit to recover compensation.
Get Medical Treatment
Bicyclists often suffer serious injuries in an accident with a car, requiring immediate medical attention. However, getting medical treatment after an accident is still crucial, even if you do not believe you were injured too badly. Medical records will play a critical role in proving your injuries and will be used to help calculate the compensation you later claim in your lawsuit. Thus, it is important to get immediate medical attention so that an insurance company cannot argue that your injuries are not that serious.
Call Our Attorneys
Once you have received the proper medical treatment, call our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers. Our firm can assess your case to determine if you have a valid claim against the driver involved in your accident. While a bicycle accident victim could file a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance after an accident, they will likely recover more for their damages if they file a lawsuit. Our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers can help explain the benefits of pursuing compensation through a bicycle accident lawsuit.
Who to Sue for a Bicycle Accident in Johns Creek, GA
Determining who to sue after a bicycle accident might not seem that challenging, but if the driver that injured you is unknown, it could be hard to hold them responsible in a lawsuit. Some drivers might panic after hitting a cyclist and flee from the accident scene. In these situations, it is important to report the accident to law enforcement so they can begin investigating the hit-and-run driver. Any identifying information you have will be freshest in your memory just after an accident and will be included in your police report. Our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers can then work with the police to help locate the driver that injured you and bring them to justice.
In cases where a single driver or multiple drivers stop to render aid to an injured cyclist, it will be less difficult to initiate a lawsuit. Even if the other drivers refused to provide their personal and insurance information to a victim, that information would need to be given to the police for their report. A police report will have a driver’s name and address listed in it. So if the driver does not have car insurance, a lawsuit can still be filed against them since their identity is known.
How the Court Determines Fault in a Johns Creek, GA Bicycle Accident Lawsuit
Many bicycle accident victims wonder if any actions on their part during an accident could impact the compensation they might recover in a lawsuit. Fortunately, victims can still recover damages even if they partially contributed to causing the accident. Under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence rule, victims can recover compensation if they are not found 50% or more at fault for causing the accident in which they were injured. If you are equally responsible for an accident or more at fault, you will be barred from any recovering compensation.
If you are awarded damages but found to have contributed to bringing about the accident, your award will be reduced by the percentage you were found to have contributed. For instance, if you were awarded $100,000 but found 10% at fault, you would still recover $90,0000 minus the $10,000 you are responsible for. Our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers can review your case to determine where liability will likely be placed and how to proceed.
Statute of Limitations to File a Bicycle Accident Lawsuit in Johns Creek, GA
The time limit to file a bicycle accident lawsuit in Georgia is known as the statute of limitations. According to O.C.G.A.§ 9-3-33, bicycle accident victims usually have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit in Johns Creek.
There are very few exceptions to the statute of limitations. One exception to the two-year deadline is for children injured in a bicycle accident. If a rider was under 18 at the time of the accident, the limitations period would not start running until the victim’s 18th birthday. This means that children injured in a bicycle accident will have until just before the age of 20 to file their lawsuit. Our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers can help ensure your lawsuit is filed in a timely manner.
Our Johns Creek, GA Bicycle Accident Lawyers Can Help
Our Johns Creek bicycle accident lawyers are dedicated to helping bicycle accident victims recover the compensatory damages they deserve. For a free case consultation, contact Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
