A Bicycle Accident Attorney New Yorkers Trust
We know how to get big results for injured cyclists.
Biking is one of the best ways to get around New York, and other road users need to share the road with cyclists. Unfortunately, too many drivers fail to do so, and more often than not, a cyclist gets seriously hurt. What follows can be a tough legal battle, but you don’t have to go it alone.
Keogh Crispi, P.C. has the experience and winning approach that gets big results for injured New Yorkers. If you’ve been injured, you need an experienced bicycle accident lawyer on your side. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
Who pays for bicycle accidents in New York?
New York is a “no-fault” state for car accidents, and that includes car-on-bicycle accidents. If you were hit by a car while out on your bike, you can file a no-fault claim with the insurance for the car that hit you. If the car was uninsured, or you were in a hit-and-run and the driver was never found, you can file a no-fault claim with your own car insurance, if you have it, or with a household family member’s car insurance.
To take legal action for damages beyond what’s covered by no-fault insurance, you must meet the state’s definition of “serious injury.” Permanent and disfiguring injuries are considered serious, as are broken bones and any injury that affects your daily activities for a specified period of time. Bicycle accidents often cause these types of injuries, since even with helmets and protective gear, a cyclist’s body is much less protected than someone in an enclosed vehicle. Some of the most common serious injuries sustained in bicycle accidents include:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Broken bones
- Neck, back and spine injuries
- Nerve damage
- Internal injuries
- Facial and dental injuries
To get full compensation for a bicycle accident, you need to show that your injuries were serious and that they were the responsibility of a motorist or other negligent party. That’s where we come in. Our job is to get to the bottom of what happened.
We understand how and why bicycle accidents happen.
“I didn’t see the bicycle” shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s the single most common thing motorists say when crashes happen. The legal term for the most common cause of bicycle accidents is “inadequate surveillance,” which essentially means not looking where you’re supposed to look in order to maneuver safely. This can lead to:
- Doorings: someone in a car opens a door into the roadway or bicycle lane and into the path of a cyclist. The cyclist either hits the door or swerves to avoid it and hits something else.
- Right Cross: a car pulling out from the right side of a street (whether parked on the street or in a driveway or parking lot) enters the cyclist’s path, causing a collision.
- Left Cross: a car in the oncoming lane turns left in front of or into the cyclist.
- Right Hook: a car passes the bicycle on the left, then immediately turns right in front of or directly into the cyclist.
- Rear-end: many motorists follow bicycles too closely, and since a bicycle can slow down or come to a stop much faster than a car, that’s a recipe for rear-end collision.
Motorists who hit cyclists usually do so because they aren’t paying attention. They may be texting, rubbernecking, eating, or just lost in thought. They may also be fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Bikes are smaller than cars and make very little noise, so it’s easy for an inattentive driver to miss a cyclist who happens to be in a blind spot.
On occasion, a bicycle accident is caused by something other than a driver’s negligence. A cyclist might be rear-ended when a car’s brakes fail, for instance, or a defect in the rode surface itself may force a cyclist to swerve. Under these circumstances, the negligent party could be a manufacturer or a company responsible for maintenance.
The key, of course, is that we must prove it. The insurance company for the at-fault driver will fight hard to put the blame on the injured cyclist, because that’s how they protect their bottom line. Bicycle accidents are often high-stakes cases because of the severity of the injuries. The lawyer you choose to represent you in this fight will make all the difference.
Our legal team will work hard to show how and why your accident happened.
Your case begins with your story. You know what happened and how the accident has affected your life. Our job is to help you tell that story to a jury, and to back you up with hard evidence. We interview witnesses, review photos and physical evidence from the scene, pore over police accident reports, and follow up on every lead to build an airtight case against the at-fault driver. We frequently hire expert witnesses to further bolster our case. We absolutely refuse to be outworked or outmaneuvered by the insurance company.
We have a proven track record of results because we prepare every case for trial. From the moment you come to see us, we start thinking about how we’ll make your case before a judge and jury. We will make sure you’re prepared for each step in the process and include you in strategic decisions. When the insurance company sees how prepared we are, they have every reason to offer a fair settlement. If they won’t, we’ll take them to trial.
Throughout the process, we’ll keep you informed and handle the insurance company day-to-day so that you can focus on healing. We do all this on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t owe us a cent unless we win your case. If we win, our fee is a percentage of your recovery, so you still don’t pay us out of pocket. If we don’t win, we don’t get paid.
Choose a bicycle accident lawyer who will make a difference in your case.
You can afford to hire a lawyer to help you take on the insurance company. The only question is whether you can afford to go it alone. The stakes are high in bicycle accident cases – not just for you, but for other cyclists, as well. Our goal is to get you the compensation you need and to send a strong message that drivers need to share the road.
It’s important to act quickly so that we can preserve critical evidence and start protecting your rights against the insurance company’s tactics. If you’ve been injured, choose a bicycle accident attorney with a strong track record to build your case. Contact us online or give us a call to schedule your free consultation with attorney Pat James Crispi.